I-T Dept wants IRS member in EC

With the success in unearthing much unaccounted money in the recent Assembly polls, the Income Tax Department now wants one of the members in the Election Commission to be selected from the Indian Revenue Service.

In a note prepared for the two-day annual conference of chief commissioners and directors-general of income tax here tomorrow, the department has recommended that the director-general of income tax (investigation) would then directly report to that member. The step has been suggested to strengthen monitoring of the use of money power in elections.

It has also been recommended by the department that political parties be legally treated as charitable institutions. “The political parties should accordingly be assessed under Section 11 and not under Section 13A of the Income Tax Act. This will allow them to use money power and influence the voters’ mind in a constructive manner,” the department has outlined.

The officials will also discuss measures to tackle those cases in which tax has been deducted at source but the assesses have not filed income tax returns. Analysis of the steps taken to tackle black money and how to further effective action is also on the agenda.

The department will also discuss the administrative challenges of transition to the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) in various areas of work, as the new administrative mode is proposed to come into force from next April.

Preparation of a road map for extension of Ayakar Seva Kendras to centres through the country, steps for expediting the processing of returns in the centralised processing centre environment and formulation of strategies for efficient administration of tax exemption provisions related to charitable institutions will also be done at the conference, to be inaugurated by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.