In order to meet the liquidity needs of taxpayers during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Income Tax Department has stated that it has fast-tracked its tax refund process. The IT department has already processed 26.2 lakh cases which amount to more than Rs 98,625 crore up to September 1. Furthermore, the refunds have been issued completely electronically and are deposited directly into the accounts of the taxpayers.
The Income Tax Department worked at a great speed to process the refund claims. In between April and June, the IT department issued tax refunds at a speed of 76 cases per minute and continued the momentum well into September.
In a tweet, the department said that between April 1 and September 1, refunds of Rs 29,997 crore have been issued in 24,50,041 cases and corporate tax refunds of Rs 68,628 crore have been issued in 1,68,421 cases.
Unlike earlier times, in these refund cases, no taxpayer had to approach an officer of the department to request for release of refunds as they now got refunds directly into their bank accounts.
In addition to this, PM Narendra Modi also launched the platform for ‘Transparent Taxation’. The platform aims at benefiting the taxpayers who are honest and is about honoring the honest.
Three main features of the platform are faceless assessment, faceless appeal, and taxpayers’ charter.
The Prime Minister stated that the focus is on making the tax system people-centric and public friendly, “banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured, funding the unfunded and honouring the honest.
In praising the role of honest taxpayers, Modi stated that when the life of an honest taxpayer of the country becomes easy, he moves forward and develops and then the country also develops and leaps forward.
He further added that India’s tax administration has been known for tax harassment, where overzealous well-intentioned officials while raising tax revenues, have dampened growth and at times done more damage than good.
The government introduced a faceless income tax assessment to reduce the scope for corruption and overreach by officials. The issue of alleged tax harassment by officers gained much attention in India after VG Siddharta, the founder of India’s largest coffee shop chain, committed suicide in July and left behind a note accusing tax authorities of persecuting him.
In a joint letter sent to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) this month, representatives of the Income Tax Employees Federation and the Income Tax Gazetted Officers’ Association voiced their displeasure.
Tax officers stated that faceless tax assessment may reduce tax collection and raise pressure on officers that are under stress to meet lofty tax targets for the current fiscal year. Also, while stating their strong displeasure on this type of unilateral decision-making, they stated that it is not in the interest of the efficient working of the Department. However, FM Nirmala Sitharaman called it a landmark day in the history of tax administration and stated that a framework has been put in place by the CBDT for a transparent efficient, and an accountable tax system that will use technology such as data analytics and AI.
Since 2014, there have been consistent attempts at revamping the tax administration. The current number of taxpayers in the country is significantly low at only 1.5 crore.
