IRDA Chairman keen to discuss the tax issues with the ministry.
IRDA Chairman, J Hari Narayan is supposed to meet the Union finance minister tomorrow to discuss various issues related to tax benefits, product approval period, rural thrust of distribution and service tax. Some insurance companies had met the finance minister in the first week of September and discussed various issues such as product design and approval, taxation, investment and micro insurance, said an official familiar with the development.
At the same time, the regulator is trying to change the distribution model prevailing currently in the industry. Hari Narayan is reported to have said in a global insurance summit that IRDA is contemplating the introduction of a lead banking type of model in the insurance industry to accelerate expansion in the industry. In the banking sector, the lead bank model is followed where a specific bank takes on the responsibility of ensuring the availability of banking services in defined geographies.
This proposal has been circulated among all insurance players and the regulator is waiting for the feedback from the industry officials.