CBDT asks IT dept to redress grievances before PM’s review

New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI) CBDT has issued a stern directiveto the Income Tax department, asking it to "expeditiously"resolve taxpayers’ grievances with less than a week to go fora high-level review by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Officials said newly appointed Central Board of DirectTaxes Chairperson Rani Singh Nair has written to all regionalheads of the tax department, asking them to pull up theirsocks and ensure disposal of the grievances by early nextweek. As per data, there are over 3,700 grievances relating torefunds and other tax issues pending with the department outof which 1,073 are "overdue" as these have not been resolvedwithin the stipulated 60 days for resolution from the date ofreceipt. Officials said Nair has directed the supervisory principalchief commissioners of I-T in the country to "expeditiously"dispose of these grievances as the Prime Ministe is expectedto review the issue during the PRAGATI meeting he will chairon August 24. Official data states that while there are four grievancespending before the department for over a year, 137 are pendingfor over six months, 390 are pending for periods between threeand six months and 542 are pending for two to three months. The CBDT chairperson, they said, has asked the departmentto ensure a "zero" pendency in this regard, noting thateffective disposal of grievances of the taxpayers is a"hallmark of good governance". They said the chairperson will verbally communicate thismessage to the top brass of the I-T department when she holdsa nation-wide video conference meeting with them on August 20from her North Block office. Modi had underlined that his government desires to ensurebetter taxpayer services as he said he wants to remove thefear of the taxman hounding the people by ushering inaccountability and answerability in his Independence Dayspeech. After the Prime Minister criticised the department lastyear for being slow in disposal of grievances, CBDT, thepolicy-making body for income tax, had created a new setup inthe I-T establishment to put focus on taxpayers’ grievances.PTI NES ACBSC