Don't harass honest taxpayers, Modi tells IRS officers

Honest taxpayers should not be harassed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised a new batch of officers from the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) on Thursday. Interacting with some 167 probationers, the PM asked them to “keep a sense of trust” for the people of this country while they perform their duty of implementing the government’s revenue policy.

Pointing out that an overwhelming majority of people are law-abiding, Modi told the probationers to have a “sensitive” and “humane” approach to the job, so honest taxpayers were not harassed, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).     

The government’s tax policies, including the one linked to retrospective tax imposed on UK-based telecom company Vodafone, have often been a cause of concern for the industry. However, the National Democratic Alliance government has tried to convey a more congenial tax environment. In fact, “red carpet for investors instead of red tapism” was among the signature lines used by the BJP during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign.       

Also, with an objective to promote a non-adversarial tax regime in the country, the government recently modified the annual appraisal proforma of income-tax officials with weightage to their assessment orders being upheld on appeal. The move is aimed to encourage officials to pass correct orders, lowering taxpayers’ harassment.

Under the revised format, the performance of the assessing officers will be specifically measured for quality of assessment, the pace of disposal, and efforts made towards widening of tax base.