Shortfall in TDS collections: CBDT asks I-T dept to act

Special measures to be initiated to meet collection targets

Worried over a huge shortfall in tax deducted at source (TDS) collections, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has asked the income tax department (I-T) to initiate special measures to achieve the collection target for this fnancial year.

Officials said the instructions were issued last week after a video conference meeting chaired by CBDT chairperson Anita Kapur, along with other members of the board and top officials of the department from across the country.

The board, according to sources, asked officials to bolster their efforts and give special emphasis on TDS and advance tax categories.

Officials said the growth in TDS collections was less by 50 per cent this time as compared to the year-ago period. In 2013-14, the growth under this head was 16.7 per cent. In 2014-15 the growth percentage is only 7.8 per cent.

CBDT, the apex policy making body of the I-T department, also asked the taxman to ensure assessees who have made “handsome” self-assessment tax declarations be tapped to deposit it as advance tax so that the figures could be collated and reflected in this financial year, which will end March 31.

The budgeted target under the direct tax category is fixed at Rs 7.36 lakh-crore for the current financial year and it had collected Rs 5,46,661 crore till January 23.

To ensure better TDS and advance tax collections, the sources said, officials have been asked to make on-spot visits to defaulting organisations and interact with officials and individuals responsible under the established mechanism in this regard.

“The contribution of TDS to the overall gross direct taxes collections during 2013-14 was Rs 2,71,069 crore compared to Rs 2,29,943 crore during 2012-13. Thus, the TDS category contributes over 37 per cent to the gross direct taxes collections, emphasising its ever growing importance,” a vision statement of the I-T department said.