Written in : June 1998

In one of the earlier articles I had mentioned that the department had decided not to take up scrutiny assessment work during this year. That was based on a news item published in a business newspaper at that time. I now have more reliable information and a new story gets confirmed.

The department has organised a central action plan for the year 1998-99. It has set up for itself four broad Key Result Areas for the year. The areas are Computerisation, Budget Collections, Expansion of Tax Base and Public Grievances.

Internal targets fixed in the department are that at least 70% of the Permanent Account Number applications received during the Financial Year 1998-99 shall be allotted and cards dispatched to the applicants before 31-03-1999.

I would have thought that the department would clear away all pending applications. Instead, the target is to dispose off only 70% of the applications. For this, you must appreciate that the task taken up by the department is a gigantic one and requires tremendous efforts.

The department also desires to do substantial computerisation in other administrative, accounting and information gathering areas as well.

To ensure that while PANs are issued without difficulty and causing disturbance, the department has decided not to change the jurisdiction of tax authorities from 01-07-1998 to 31-03-1999.

The next big target for the department is to reduce arrears of demands. The outstanding demands are huge and the department has set itself stiff targets. The Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme is a major effort in this direction. This is expected to clear a large number of long pending cases, outstanding issues and disputed demands.

This also means that defaulting arrears will find screws being tightened.

To ensure that the budget collections are achieved and the officers' efforts, attention and time are not diverted, the Board has directed that there will be no scrutiny assessments till 31-03-1999. Only time-barring scrutiny assessments will be completed. And, these will be completed not by 31-03-1999 but by 31-12-1998 so that collections can be effected before 31-03-1999.

All non-time barring scrutiny cases are to be kept pending and taken up for disposal only after 01-04-1999.

If there are any exceptional cases of non-time barring scrutiny assessments, these should be made with the written and prior approval of the Chief Commissioner under his signature.

The implications are that there will be virtually no scrutiny work except the time barring cases taken up by officers.

The department has undertaken a stupendous task of collecting information, updating the records and following up with all potential tax payers which are covered by the One by Six Scheme. The target set is that all potential return filers should be brought into the tax net by 28-02-1999.

The next major target is with reference to Public Grievances. The department wants that such grievances should be attended to immediately and disposed of.

The department has targeted that no grievances should be kept pending for more than a month unless the aggrieved person does not himself co-operate or that the proceedings cannot be disposed of because of some legal hurdles.

The grievances which have been pending for more than a year as of 31-03-1998 should be disposed by August 31, 1998 and the rest by September 30, 1998.

All the above shows the changing priorities and outlook of the tax department.

Is there just a chance that you might be surprised and really find a friendly tax department?

A couple of weeks after hearing a sermon on Psalms 51:2-4 (knowing my own hidden secrets) and Psalms 52:3-4 (lies and deceit), a man wrote the following letter to the Income Tax Department:

"I have been unable to sleep, knowing that I have cheated on my income tax. I had understated my taxable income, I now enclose a cheque for Rs.10 lakhs toward taxes that I have not paid, but should have paid.

If I still can't sleep, I will send the rest."