Assessees can soon interact with tax officer in virtual conference facility of faceless assessment system
Jul 24, 2021
New Delhi [India], July 24 : Faceless assessment system will soon have the facility of a virtual conference where assessees can interact with tax officers and represent their cases and grievances.
"This virtual conference facility will have a language translation facility as well", said JB Mohapatra, Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Income Tax Day that is being celebrated today.
Mohapatra said, "We are going to start a virtual conference with the assessees. Technology has enabled us to have the VC, but we are working upon the language translation so that our officers may understand the language of the tax payers. People are working on this system. Very soon we will have a full-fledged virtual conference facility which will help both the payers and the tax gatherer, work in tandem effortlessly and efficiently."
Talking about the current technical problem of income tax portal where work is under progress with the IT company Infosys, CBDT Chairman said, "If you look at the tax portal, it is a combination of hundreds of functionalities, from making an application for rectification, making an application for registration, filing an appeal to filing a return, this new portal is all inclusive, more the functionalities, more the chances that something will not work out at the testing level or at operational level. The system is for people. The MSP and the Income Tax department as a whole is working alongside the Chartered Accountants of India to make it glitch free and operational as quickly as possible."
CBDT Chairman is quite hopeful and cautiously optimistic to achieve the direct tax collection target of 11.08 lakh crore for the financial year 2020-21. He said that out of 11.08 lakh crore, 10.95 lakh crores target is through Income Tax and Corporation Tax and 12.500 crores through Securities Transaction Tax (STT). "On both the Corporation Tax and the Income Tax and STT collection front, we are at a very happy space right now. In the first quarter, we achieved 22 percent of our target, which is broadly the way we look forward for this year", he said.
"Our numbers are much superior to the year before, but understandably so, because last year was a year of exceptional difficulties. So, these two numbers cannot be compared to each other. But we are not sitting on our laurels.
I believe that the tax targets of 11.08 lakh crore can be achieved, and it can be exceeded as the collection numbers are good today. I am cautiously optimistic at this point in time, we are not giving up, fingers crossed, but we are trying hard so that our direct tax collection numbers improve quarter on quarter basis", Mohapatra said.
Mohapatra, while extending his wishes to the members of the Aayakar Parivar and their families, complimented them for their collective efforts and effectively fulfilling their twin role as the revenue earning arm of the nation and provider of taxpayer services. Referring to the larger and far-reaching policy measures like 'Honoring the Honest', Faceless Regime and adoption of the Taxpayers' Charter, he noted that these initiatives have made the departmental functioning more transparent, objective and taxpayer-friendly.
He also expressed his heartfelt condolences for the families of the officers and officials who lost their lives in the line of duty during the pandemic and observed that their dedication to duty inspires us to make the Department even more committed, more humane, more professional and a more efficient organization.
