Chanakya in Ahmedabad Income Tax Office

By Vijay Kumar

FINANCE Minister Pranab Babu yesterday unveiled a statue of Chanakya in the Income Tax Office in Ahmedabad. Addressing the gathering, he said,

++ tax laws have to be simple, stable and robust; tax rates should remain moderate; and multiplicity of tax exemptions and deductions should be gradually phased out in order to widen and deepen the tax base.

++ Tax administration needs to be further toned up by appropriate use of technology on the one hand, and improving professional competence and responsiveness of the employees on the other.

++ I have recently announced that Advanced Mid-Career Training Programme ( AMCTP ) for IRS officers would be started during the current year. Similar training should be organized by the local Chief Commissioners for employees at all levels to improve the skills of its employees and to foster a sense of service to the taxpayers and the nation, to meet the challenges of switch over to the new taxation regime, meet the emerging challenges such as development of tax shelter products and use of tax havens thrown up by globalization.

++ We have set up two Income Tax Overseas Units ( ITOUs ) within Indian Missions in Singapore and Mauritius and I have approved eight more such units in USA, UK, Netherlands, Japan, Cyprus, Germany, France and UAE . These ITOUs will facilitate seamless flow of tax related information from foreign tax jurisdictions and strengthen our fight against menace of tax evasion using cross border transactions.

++ For any organisation to work efficiently and effectively, it is of utmost importance that it has the requisite infrastructure as well as well trained and motivated manpower. Better office ambience plays an important role in improving employee satisfaction, delivery of quality services and enhancing public perception.

++ Reorganization of work in functional lines has led to reduction of hierarchies and a more professional environment. With employees spending a major chunk of their lives in offices, a good working environment has become critical to performance level of any organisation .

++ I am happy to announce that the Income Tax Welfare Fund, pending since 1998, has become operational. The Fund has a corpus of Rs.100 crore kept in interest-bearing deposit. The interest earned annually on this deposit, and other annual accruals to the Fund, will be available for welfare activities of all employees of the Income Tax department and also help in meeting their unforeseen contingencies.