NSDL to handle income-tax refunds

Income tax refund on tax deduction at source (TDS) will be handed over the National Securities & Depository Ltd (NSDL) within six months and the entire income tax department will be fully computerised by the end of 2005.

Speaking at the 37th General Body Meeting of the Income Tax Gazetted Officers Association (ITGOA) which represents as much 97 per cent of the work force of the income-tax department, chief commissioner of West Bengal, N P Sengupta said that the central board of direct tax is in the process of working out the details of the tax refund process through NSDL which would also address the issue of fake tax refund certificates.

Taking about review of assesses, Sengupta said that the department should not take the issue of review of accounts seriously because the exercise of reviewing assesses was not with the sole purpose of fault finding.

"It was just a routine exercise and that there was no vigilance angle contemplated for the same," he added.

G Gopalan, secretary, ITGOA who inaugurated the meeting said that the department lacked computers and that it was very difficult for income tax officers to work within the scheduled four months with available infrastructure to complete assessments.

Gopalan also pointed out that training facilities set up for income-tax officials were inadequate because the level of knowledge imparted by the faculty was not enough to operate the software they were required to use when on job. The chief commissioner admitted this point.

Gopalan claimed ministers were wrongly briefed about ground realities at the income tax department and that the targets given were difficult with the present state of infrastructure at income-tax offices.

He added that income tax officers expected to conduct a more search and seizure, survey and scrutiny functions and not be stuck with deskwork, which they saw as underutilisation of manpower.