I-T refunds problem to end soon due to use of technology, asserts Chief Commissioner

Mr R K Singh, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in Mumbai, agreed that the age old problem of delay in ‘refunds’ from the department continued, but asserted that he saw light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to technology.

"Twenty years ago, when I was working in Firozabad, the local chamber of commerce was complaining about the slow pace of ‘refunds’ and also rampant corruption in the process of refunds. I hoped then that the problem would be resolved within a decade or two. But it still persists today.

"But now the department has sharply curtailed the scope for corruption due to elimination of human interface between the I-T officers and tax payers, thanks to increased use of technology. Similarly, by using technology, we are hopeful of reducing the delay in refunding," the Chief Commissioner asserted.

Mr R K Singh was addressing an interactive meeting on issues connected with tax administration at Indian Merchants’ Chamber on January 19. IMC President Mr Gul Kripalani introduced Mr Singh to the audience. Mr Kishor B Karia, chairman of IMC’s direct taxation committee, who introduced the theme of the meeting, threw up many teasers.

Mr Singh was optimistic about the future and satisfied at the way development was taking place. He said: " In the past one decade, the number of assessees rose to 3.26 crore from 1.72 crore, but the collection of tax rose eightfold to a phenomenal Rs.3,72,800 crore from rs.46,000 crore. Simultaneously, the direct tax collection ratio to GDP rose to 6.56% from 2.68%; the rate of disposal of cases rose to 2.93 crore from 90 lakhs; and the cost plunged to Rs.0.66 from Rs.1.83 for every Rs.100 collected by the department."

He said the I-T department was effectively dealing with the twin problems of (a) refunds & cuts, and (b) selection of cases for scrutiny. "In Delhi, the department is tackling these issues by using computers. Discretion of I-T officers to select has been curtailed by the ‘machine’ and also by the CBDT’s order. We have ensured minimal manual intervention."

For reducing the human interface, the department appointed its stakeholder, the SBI, as its ‘refund banker’ and ensured the refund payment by either cheque or ECS. It also divested the tasks of prompt disbursal of refunds and issuance of PAN cards to its other stakeholders such as UTI and NSDL.

"But this innovative measure has received a temporary setback, following detection of a fraud (as reported in the media), in which ‘large scale bogus returns were filed and bogus refunds were made’. There were also other kinds of attempts at subverting the department’s initiatives," he said.

Progressive laws like the RTI Act, on the background of ongoing I-T revolution in the country, had helped the I-T department to create a transparent work environment. "The RTI is a very powerful weapon against all black sheep in the department," he said.

About two decades ago, the I-T department trod warily to undertake investigations without definitive cues of tax evasion provided by informants. "But today we carry out prompt investigations, based on any ‘serious mismatch between figures shown in the tax returns’ detected by the computers of I-T department and its stakeholders like banks, insurance companies, UTI and NSDL.

"The 360 Degree Profile has been providing valuable information. Our ‘cyber labs’ have been detecting the evil practices of corporates who create two balance sheets -- one for submitting to the I-T department and the other for in-house use of owners," he said and asserted that the cost of tax evasion would be very severe.

Builders, developers, contractors and others related to the real estate business had paid a heavy price for ‘black deals’ resulting in tax evasion.

Mr Singh said that the I-T employees’ unions were fully cooperating with the management in sprucing up the department’s image by streamlining its functions.

"That the department was performing exceedingly well is clearly borne out by the trend of stock transaction tax collection. The STT collection grew by 25% in 2009 as against the GDP growth of 7.6%.

"I am happy that I am ending my professional journey in this great city on an optimistic note for the future," he concluded.

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