GUWAHATI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman advices the tax administrators to be the tax facilitators from tax enforcers.
Addressing a Press conference here on Thursday, she advised the tax officials to be gentle, precise and polite in their communications with taxpayers; and not to overreach in their efforts to collect revenue.
She acknowledged that the North Eastern Region was in dire need of prosperity and suggested that the departments can take up a proactive role in facilitating development of the region by making the people aware of various tax concessions and incentives available to businesses in the region.
She reiterated her earlier announcement that faceless Income Tax assessments would be launched on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami this year.
Earlier in the day, Sitharaman along with Minister of State (Finance) Anurag Thakur interacted with the Direct & Indirect Tax officials and tax payers of North Eastern Region. Top officials of Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, including Revenue Secretary and Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT)/ Central Board of Excise and Custom(CBEC) were also present in the conference.
The Minister of State for Finance Shri Anurag Thakur addressed the gathering and lauded the efforts made by the Government in the last five years in the areas of widening the tax base, ease of doing business and ease of tax compliance. He lauded the efforts of the Income Tax Department in reducing the time for issuing refunds and advised the tax officials to follow the mantra “Perform, Reform and Transform” of the Prime Minister.
During the interaction Pramod Chandra Mody, Chairman, CBDT mentioned that around Rs.8000 crore is being collected by the Income Tax Department in the North Eastern Region, and major tax collections come from petroleum, cement and trading sectors.Pranab Kumar Das, Chairman, CBIC, highlighted that there has been a 84% growth in tax base in the Region after introduction of GST.
Sitharaman also held a meeting with representatives of ICAI, Tax Bar Associations, FINER, FICCI, CII, Electric Merchant Association, Kamrup Chamber of Commerce and prominent business groups of the Region. She appreciated their contribution to nation building and assured that tax administration would function as facilitators of wealth and job creators. The Finance Minister assured that tax compliance matters would be made citizen centric.
