India Inaugurates BRICS Heads of Tax Authorities Meeting in New Delhi, Adopts 2026 Tax Progress Report and Launches New Working Groups

Key facts

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the BRICS Heads of Tax Authorities Meeting in New Delhi on September 24, 2026, culminating India's BRICS Chairship of the tax cooperation track.
• The meeting was hosted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Ministry of Finance, and was also addressed by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava.
• Representatives from ten BRICS tax administrations — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates — attended the meeting.
• Sitharaman identified technology, administration, and people as the three recurring themes of BRICS tax cooperation during India's Chairship.
• Two new Working Groups — one on International Taxation and Transfer Pricing and one on Revenue Statistics — were established, with both to be led by India.
• The first-ever in-person BRICS Young Tax Professionals Capacity Building Programme, held at the National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur in April 2026, was institutionalised as an annual feature of BRICS tax cooperation.
• The BRICS Tax Cross-Learning Lab was formally launched, and the Terms of Reference of the BRICS Tax Support Network were approved.
• The meeting concluded with the signing of the BRICS Tax Progress Report 2026, and China was welcomed as the incoming Chair of the BRICS tax cooperation track for 2027.
• Sitharaman underscored that BRICS perspectives are essential to multilateral tax negotiations, including the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation.