Govt reworking its strategy to enhance direct tax mop-up: CBDT member

The government is reworking its strategy to boost revenue collection from direct taxes which has been lagging behind so far, a senior CBDT official said on Thursday.

The government has set a direct tax collection target of Rs 13.35 trillion for the current fiscal, which includes Rs 7.66 trillion from corporate tax and Rs 5.69 trillion as income tax.

"Growth in direct tax collection has been less than expected. The Central Board of Direct Taxes will look into this and rework its strategy," Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Member Akhilesh Ranjan said on the sidelines of an Assocham event.

Ranjan, who is also the convenor of the task force on Direct Tax Code, said taxpayers in the country should not see paying income tax as a burden.

Asked about lowering corporate tax, he said the government is seized of the matter and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also reiterated recently that there is some need for corporate tax reduction.

"That has been reiterated by the finance minister recently also that we are moving towards lower rate and I am sure that will happen sooner or later. Government has already said that there is some need for some corporate tax rate reduction," Ranjan said.

Talking about tax compliance, he said government is trying to further simplify the taxation system as it will lead to better revenue realisation.

On the Direct Tax Code (DTC) report, which has been submitted to the government, Ranjan said, "The report has not been (made) public, so I won't be able to give any details on that. But the broad trends are that we have obviously focussed on compliance." Compliance is the cornerstone of any tax policy and it has different aspects. 

It is not just about tax rates but also about ease of filing, about modernising tax system, improving litigation system management as well as things like making tax law more comprehensible and organised, he added.

"So that's what the DTC has tried to do, to come out with the non-disrupting established concepts. Carrying on with the policy that has already been laid down by the government and try to remove distortions, remove the complexities that have crept in over the years. All these things, the simplicity, comprehensiveness...should encourage the people (to pay taxes), that is the plan," he said.