Tax laws still adversarial - ASSOCHAM
ASSOCHAM in its pre-budget memorandum to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister mentioned several loopholes in the tax laws, which make them quite adversarial to the tax-payers and investors quite contrary to the often-repeated commitments to make tax administration non-adversarial and consistent.
ASSOCHAM submitted:
1. Many of the provisions in substantive as well in procedural Direct Tax Laws are not equitable and fair. Many of the provisions are unfair and heavily biased in favour of the tax administrators with no accountability.
2. The entire responsibility and the burden has been shifted from the tax administrators to tax payers under the pretext of tax evasion measures.
3. Giving a nightmarish experience to the tax payers, at present scrutiny assessments are being done in physical mode despite the fact that the selection of the scrutiny case is random and computer based.
4. Under the provisions of Chapter XVIIB tax is required to be deducted at source on various types of payments. The scope of this chapter is being expanded from year to year. There are various nature of payments about which the normal understanding all along has been that they are not subject to TDS. However, all of a sudden some of the Assessing Officers take a different stand. This is hardly a consistent policy-driven administration, as is promised by the Prime Minister.
5. amendments to the direct laws other than the tax rates should be delinked from the Budget exercise, since the Budget is a confidential exercise. In the process, certain crucial amendments to tax laws are passed along with the Budget without any public debate in the name of confidentiality.
6. delays in Income Tax refund, giving effect to appellate order leads to drain of liquidity resulting in huge borrowing costs and should be processed within reasonable time frame.