The Income Tax Department is working on a comprehensive strategy to deal with corruption within the organisation. The work relating to identification of potential areas of corruption related to the organisational activities and development of an action plan for its mitigation has commenced, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said.
The action plan is likely to be finalised by December 10, 2012,” the Results-Framework Document (RFD) for 2012-13 of the Board said.
CBDT is the statutory authority functioning under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. The officials of the Board also functions as a Division of the Ministry of Finance, dealing with matters relating to levy and collection of direct taxes.
The RFD further said that “for financial year 2012-13, the department is concentrating on providing better taxpayer’s services with the view to enhance voluntary compliance”.
The Board, it said, has carefully reviewed its priorities with a view to sharpen the different mechanism for achieving effective and meaningful implementation of taxpayer services that will also facilitate voluntary compliance for the department.
Efforts of the Board are on reducing the compliance costs of the taxpayers, and intend to focus on better communication with taxpayers, development of human resources in the department and strengthening IT enabled services, the document added.
To achieve its objectives, the CBDT plans to fill up the existing vacancies in the department in a phased manner, provide proper training and educating taxpayers.
Bidup and Sukumar’s comments need to be forwarded to the Minister for Finance and the CBDT chairman.
AS regards Sukumar’s comments, let me add the extreme harassment by the Pay & Accounts Offices attached to the IT offices. For every arrear bill, medical reimbursement bill, TA/DA bills, or any misc. claims for reimbursement of valid expenditures incurred by any official, the P&AO /Field Pay Unit must be paid huge percentages. This applies to the non-gazetted and gazetted officers (B-Group) and is entirely supported by the Unions.
As regards the IRS officers engaged in assessment, investigation, intelligence, etc. work, each day in office brings in not less than a lakh to a crore of rupees depending upon the “ïncome band” of the tax payers. This, of course is to be compulsorily shared among all–from the topmost to the lowest rung in the hierarchy and is totally the accepted norm.
One cannot and does not get a transfer or a “choice” posting unless the prescribed payment is made. In some cases, the prices are as high as a few crores (usually paid by the interested business group) and the floor price now is 25 lakhs. The same applies to a similarly corrupt system in the IT Tribunals.
Yes, there is a Directorate of Vigilance in the IT Deptt where the files/records are on “sale”.
Thus this much publicised advance notice to the corrupt is merely a message that they have to pay more and as bribe.
The I T Department has no transparent transfer policy in place which is there is seldom followed with ref. to all India transfer
Transfer and posting with in Chief Commissioner of Income Tax ( Cadre Controlling Authority ) = CCIT (CCA) in charge of local posting with in his charge .Local Placement Committee only ditto the list prepared by admn.. Staff Association is also a part of the game. It is very common some preferred ones are repeated posted in lucrative assessment charges, Central Circle charges, Company circle and investigation wings, and rest are left to fend themselves in insignificant postings through out their whole career
In response to many RTI applications to different CCIT(CCA) it is very clear.
How can u end corruption ? Who wants to end it sir?
The caption “Home » Income Tax » I-T department working on strategy to prevent corruption I-T department working on strategy to prevent corruption” itself is totally wrong and misleading and the content is based on wrong assumptions.
First, IT Deptt is merely a clog in the huge wheel called “the bureaucracy” or the “Govt.” which in itself is thoroughly corrupt, from the topmost to the bottom- most, inclusive of all that is part of the concept of “State”. Thus, it is ludicrous and idiotic indeed to even contemplate the very idea of making this corrupt deptt. corruption-free or insulate it against the all-pervading corrupt system, especially and inter alia for these reasons (which are only a few of a large number of facts):
1) The CBDT is NOT an independent authority, though there is a misconception about its being a “quasi judicial” role in its statutory role due to the misleading and irrelevant expressions used in the Act (which are totally ignored and disregarded by the political and bureaucratic-IAS-bosses);
2) The CBDT functions as a subordinate deptt. in the Deptt. of Revenue headed invariably by an IAS secretary who, in terms of the year of entry into the civil service, must always be “junior”to the Chairman of CBDT who reports to the said Secretary;
3) All the functions of transfers and postings of the IRS officers (having regard to the factors like their integrity/honesty, aptitude, areas of interest/specialization-like legal or investigation, etc.- and their “technical competence”) are only on paper decided by the members and chairman of CBDT but in practice decided by the CSS people controlling these sections by way of their right and are vetoed/concurred with/approved by (and even decided, with reference to political and “administrative expediency”) the Revenue Secretary;
4) In all matters relating to all IRS officers’ entire service life (HBA, EL, Study Leave, Vigilance clearance, foreign training/posting/deputation, rewards, prayers for transfer on copassionate grounds and the like) are compulsorily handled and decided/determined by the said CSS coterie which really runs and controls the working of the central govt.
In this context, it may be mentioned that VP Singh had miserably failed to do this very job (in the Income Tax Deptt. alone) in 1985-87 as FM-cum-Commerce Minister through the then effective machinery of the Inspection Divn of the CBDT reporting direct to Chairman CBDT. Despite the dedication of these officers in the Inspn Div., the whole deptt and the IRS rose in revolt and the whole exercise failed and destroyed even the remnants of honesty and integrity left in the CBDT/IT Deptt resulting in corrupt officers and staff dictating terms merely by keeping the CSS people in Ad.VI/VII in Revenue Deptt. in “good humour”! VP Singh was told that, the position in the Commerce Ministry was worse—but he had vowed merely to cleanse the IT Deptt resulting in the then Inspn DIv officers beingpunished mercilessly for ever! The then FM, and later a miserable PM too, had no vision about the all-pervading corrupt system in which corruption, as a rule of nature, must always flow downwards from the top. And the result in the IT deptt was really unspeakably filthy.
The purpose of this long comment is to draw the attention of the authorities to instead do some introspection and desist from a repeat of VP Singh-created havoc, for the simple reason that corruption is now the RULE and NOT an exception or even derogatory. It is only the corrupt who are ruling, the honest are withering and living for fear of life. The recent murder of an honest whistle blower in Karnataka is indeed a warning for the lotus-eaters whose idea is the caption herein!
A corrupt system cannot be made “un-corrupt” and honest merely by telling the corrupt to become honest! In fact, for the corrupt, there must now be a VDS to enable them to declare their dishonestly acquired properties! This VDS should be for the govt. servants alone!