Modi trains guns on benami properties, wants to broaden tax net

Underlines need to reduce human interface; wants tax e-assessment in more cities

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has asked the revenue department to scale up e-assessment facilities to cover 25 cities, take corrupt officers to task and promote a regime friendly to taxpayers. He also asked the department to train guns on benami properties and focus on broadening the tax net. 

At a one-and-a half hour review meeting on Tuesday attended by Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia and the Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman Sushil Chandra, the PM is learnt to have demurred somewhat at the tax collections. 

“He said the tax collections could have been higher as fallout of demonetisation but