At a time when the Central Board of Direct Taxes is asking taxpayers to use online platform to file returns, there is a problem that might haunt the assessees. “The data in the online system directly goes to the Central Processing Centre in Bangalore and the entire work is to done by them. Hence, say there is any delay in refund the local IT officer has nothing to do and for the ombudsman it is an issue of jurisdiction,” Income Tax Ombudsman (East) Manoj Mishra told PTI.
“Its is a grey area of jurisdiction as of now for the ombudsman on tax returns filed on the online system and there is a need for solution,” he said.
There are a total 12 ombudsmen in the country and every officer had been given a fixed jurisdiction of geographical area to operate.
However, Mishra clarified that the matter was an administrative issue and had nothing to do with the benefit from the centralised online system that the department and taxpayer may get out of it.
CBDT chairman Sudhir Chandra had said last week that online filings makes return and refund tracking easy for senior officials to intervene in case of any delay.
There are around 35 million tax payers but online filing of returns are yet to pick momentum.
The return of income for assessment year 2010-2011 filed online. Return was processed
and I am entitled for a refund as claimed in my return. However CPC Bangalore made adjustment against refund for the year 2004-2005 in which wrong demand was raised by
the Income Tax Officer by not allowing credit for TDS. An application u/s 154 is pending since 2006 & ITO have not time to reply on application. I had sent all related paper to CPC Bangalore to ACIT Nethrapal M S to rectify mistake and issue refund. However Both ITO & ACIT are anot replying.
What is the use of e-filing???
It is of no consequence as, even otherwise, the IT Ombudsmen never intervened with the all-powerful Assessing Officers’ powers as they also get “services” from the ITOs only. In most cases, Ombudsmen advise the aggrieved tax payers to approach the ITOs only! These posts of Ombudsmen are merely post-retirement largesse conferred on the pliable officers as reward for serving their bosses for decades!
Hope and trust that the remedy is not worse than the disease.