The Income Tax chief recently made surprise visits to some offices in the department and found to his dismay their poor maintenance and the “indifferent attitude” of senior officers towards their juniors.
During his visit to have a first hand feel of the condition in the I-T offices, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sudhir Chandra was shocked to see obsolete furniture, dilapidated coolers, broken tubelights — all covered under thick layers of dust.
In a highly critical letter to the officers of the I-T department, Chandra said he was “pained and hurt” to find the lower staff of the department ignorant of the CBDT’s advice to issue all refunds to tax-payers by April 20.
The CBDT has initiated a major exercise for issuing refunds and has also written a number of letters to field offices to expedite the process.
I am extremely happy to note that Sri Sudhir Chandra will certainly take appropriate steps to set right all sorts of wrong things within a short span and will continue to be firebrand during his entire tenure.
The overwhelming appreciation of the courageous and honest Chairman of the tax board id really a thing of satisfaction, despite the fact that there are dome discordant voices against the department. Those who had watched him both in Chennai and in his heydays in Delhi will recall his dedication and honesty coupled with courage of conviction. His simplicity, down to earth and a saint like lifestyle, despite being a close relative of a very top film hero of Tamilnadu, are worth emulating by all the officers and staff. I am sure he must be watching this site and hence I will request that he undertakes a tour of all the offices of his department in the country early, as promised by him, to see the conditions in which taxpayer has to appear and wait outside the ITO’s rooms for even days and the harassment of them by the clerks, peons and inspectors. In the DG and director of Exemption offices, every day the ADI and the Inspector collects 10 000 for their bosses and getting if at the order of registration on any day costs not less than one lakh. A Chairman who never touched any money of/from any person cannot even believe this. If he wants, I can furnish details at least of one Bhagwan (not the God bhagwan). But the Chairman Aggarwal’s gesture is very refreshing for a change. One more thing. Refunds are no doubt coming slowly, but with out orders and interest on excess tax paid. Can Mr. Aggarwal give us some respite from this torture? God bless this God’s child and we are relieved to know that he will continue till 2015.
The Chairman has climbed the ladder to his present position. It is surprising that he did not know about the condition in the offices. Corridors in the offices are littered with filth and old broken furniture dumped by the Officers and staff. Often the Assessee’s and their Representatives given appointments, have to stand for hours in crowded corridors for want of adequate seating arrangement. The only people found seated in the corridors are the Peons assigned to the Officers, chit chatting, drinking tea or munching Pan/masala. The most pampered lot are these so callled Class Four “Officers” lording over common Tax Payers.
The solution is to introduce “Accountability” not only for Staff but for CBDT. also.Reintroduce the system of Periodic Surprise Inspection by the Senior Officers and see the results.
It would be a greater revelation to the CBDT chief if he were to make a surprise visit to several IT offices in Mumbai at the office opening time. The working hours of staff is not shown at the entry gates. Why? If banks can show their working hours, why not IT? Staff comes at around 11 or 11.30 am and leaves by 4.30 pm. How can work be completed with this work culture? If staff puts in a good day’s work, there would be no arrears and the so-called staff shortage would disappear. Unless senior officers instil discipline in the staff, the department would continue to be in mess. Assessees would suffer.
The CBDT chief should also have a look at the filing system. The routine reply to any query by an assessee is that the file is not traceable. Files could of course be found if palms are greased. Shouldn’t the CBDT chief take action in these matters? Or is it that the Union is too strong?
Such good efforts by the Hon’ble Chairman of the Board has reduced the substantial number of pendency of issue of the refunds and ultimate benefit to the revenue on account of the reduction of interest payment and to the assessee by way receipt of its own money in his hands without any effort.
Better Late than never. Thank God Mr Sudhir Chandra at least got up from his sleep
Though belated but Mr.Sudhir Chandra has dared to make surprise visit & comment on the same as he has the power of chairman to make the directives,as day by day the system is changing & during his departmental periods there was no computerisation & there used to be workload but nowadays all the e-returns are processed at bengluru & finance department is making provisions in budget for upgrading the offices & systems.I appreciate his strategy of issuing refunds & making follow up for the same.
The formerly terror in Delhi as the IAC (Acquisition), identified for his being a beacon of honesty and spotless integrity, Mr. S.C.Agarawal, as he used to be once known, still remains as innocent and childlike as he used to be in those days. After all, those who are born to retire as Chairman of CBDT and then take over a member of the Competition Commission or the Advisor to the PMO, really cannot be expected to stoop so low that he would visit the corridors of his office buildings and the prevailing conditions of cleanliness. How is he to know that, behind the cupbords and stacks of almirahs only the Clerks deal with the tax payers while Inspectors visit their houses to collect their tips and the officers sitting in single a/c rooms make the deals in their chambers or in the clubs? How is Mr. Aggarwal to also know that, the entire first half of the working day of the officers of all levels and ranks are devoted to visiting their respective (political and the civil servants) bosses’ houses and it is only after lunch they can return to their chambers to conduct their office work and grant audience to the tax payers summoned to see them? The present culture was not created in a day-as Rome was also not built in a day. It would be unfair to pass snide remarks against an honest clean person wit no stain or stigma attached to his records or career and who is rather known for his knowledge of law, erudition and investigative abilities which alone make him the only person suitable to lead the CBDT for umpteen no. of years to come.
May be, what shocked the IT Executive Chief were “the obsolete furniture, dilapidated coolers, broken tubelights — all covered under thick layers of dust”, But, what is all the more shocking to the taxpayers’ community is in having come to know of the recalcitrant demeanour of those men under his command; in that, they have chosen to remaqin ignorant of the directive, and/ornot strictly obey the repetitive letters said to have been issued,with regard to the urge to an expeditious disaposal of the refund claims of the commoners.
IS THIS THE MEANING OR SIGNIFICANCE ATTACHED TO – ‘GOOD GOVERNANCE’, THAT HAS COME TO BE WIDELY TRUNPETED IN RECENT TIMES, IN ALMOST EVERY WALK OF LIFE?!
Sir,
I request Honorable CBDT Chairman to visit there flagship Main office at Delhi (C.R. Building at ITO), hardly 3-4 K.M’s away from his office. The conditions are so pathetic that passage has been dumped with Iron almirahs\Old record boras perhaps due to renovation work on walls/floors for the last 6-7 months.
CA Manoj Anand
A really hilarious news-almost a joke! He was till the other day working in the income tax office and it took this epitome of honesty to reach the present chair of CBDT to realize and “feel shocked” at the prevailing situation in cleanliness-both visible and internal! He must be aware that all right from top to bottom in the entire hierarchy-from the Chief Commissioner to the lowest employee-in the IT department are only interested in making money and counting the daily collection thus leaving them no time to be bothered about these mundane things-including honesty and transparency.
It is surprising that Mr Sudhir Chandra comments on the state of the IT offices at this point in time. He had always been part of the system and has held various posts all over the country. Even the offices he was in charge of used to be like this. He could not do anything then. Commenting on the state of these offices after becoming the chairman is easy.