I-T Dept May Net Rs 1,200cr Revenue From North-West

The north-west region of the income tax department covering Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the union territory of Chandigarh expects to collect Rs 1200 crore net tax revenue during 1996-97.

Income tax chief commissioner S C Nagpal said the collection of tax revenue upto November 1996 stood at Rs 403 crore, an increase of 26 per cent over the corresponding period last year. The collection of net tax revenue of the north-west region during 1995-96 stood at Rs 928 crore.

Nagpal said another important target of the region was to add at least 2,18,000 net tax payers in 1996-97. Upto November 1996, 62,800 new assesses had already been added in the region. The region has a total of 8,74,000 tax payers, including companies and partnership firms.

 

Nagpal said in recent years, the department had taken several steps to build a relationship of trust with the tax payers. One important step has been acceptance of 97 per cent of the returns below Rs 2 lakh (Rs 50,000 in case of companies) without calling the tax payers to the office. Even the higher income returns between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh and those above Rs 10 lakh are accepted without scrutiny to the extent of 77 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.

To encourage honest tax payers, the income tax department has also decided not to scrutinise the return of any assessee, who shows 30 per cent more income than the preceding year. For the sake of transparency and fair play, assessing officers have been instructed to process the returns in chronological order of receipt and to issue refunds also in the same order.

To redress the grievances of the tax payers, grievance cells have been opened in the offices of the chief commissioner, all commissioners and range deputy commissioners.

For the convenience of the tax payers, the department has opened 25 new wards and circles in the region in the past few years. Income tax offices have been opened in seven new towns in the region, and more new offices would be opened wherever necessary, Nagpal said.

The department is also computerising its offices in the region in a phased manner.

The income tax department will introduce a new scheme to honour the highest taxpayer of the region from this year. To begin with, three highest tax paying assesses of the region, one each among the corporates, partnership firms and individuals will be awarded on the basis of tax paid by them for the assessment year.