Government moving towards creation of a friendly atmosphere to promote voluntary compliance by taxpayers: CBDT Chairman

This is a very distinctive Union Budget, laying down very clear policy direction and road map for the new India we envisage, heading towards a USD 5 trillion economy. Ease of tax compliance, both at the policy and process levels, shall promote ease of living, which has been distinctively addressed in the Budget, said Mr Pramod Chandra Mody, Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Ministry of Finance. Mr Mody was addressing a Post Budget Interactive Session with Ministry of Finance organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi today.

Pre-filling of returns shall be able to reduce errors in tax calculation and also collection. Faceless assessment is a great step, according to Mr Mody. Tax offices will be anonymized and the pain points will be minimized, he added. The Government is moving towards the creation of a friendly atmosphere to promote voluntary compliance by taxpayers. The taxpayers are also expected to give focused replies to tax questionnaires issued by the tax department.

Mr Sandeep M Bhatnagar, Member - GST, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs said, A robust data exchange system between CBDT and CBIC shall help the tax department recognize tax evasion, which in turn will help the honest taxpayers.

He added that the Budget has made announcements for rationalization of tariff lines and promotion of the Make in India initiative. The Sabka Vishwas Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme announced in the Budget is intended to provide relief against the dispute issues relating to taxes, which have been subsumed in GST.

On e-invoicing, Mr Bhatnagar said that it would be introduced from 1 January 2020 and a lot of preparatory work has been done. Going forward, it may ease processes so that in the future, there will be no need to file returns.

Mr Rajiv Memani, Chairman, National Committee on Taxation, Confederation of Indian Industry, said that digitization and dispute measures in the Budget are positive steps. He requested for more clarity on tax on Foreign Portfolio Investors, buyback of shares which are already underway and manufacturing of products where incentives are to be provided to large investors.

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