Legal Corner Icon — the image was hosted by the publisher and was not captured.- Annual Conference of Tax Administrators 2016- Taxmen to submit suggestions to the Prime Minister
AS is now well known, the first joint conference of tax administrators of CBDT and CBEC is scheduled to be held on 16th & 17th June, 2016. The Prime Minister will be inaugurating the Conference.
On this occasion, the Revenue Department proposes to present to the Prime Minister some suggestions for the improvement of tax administration/tax policy.
In this regard both the Boards seek suggestions from the Field Officers. The suggestions should be precise, raising issues of significance which require intervention at the highest level.
The suggestions to CBDT are to be sent by email to at anand.jha@nic.in so as to reach by 1:30 PM on Monday the 13th of June, 2016.
CBEC wants the suggestions to be emailed at commrcoord-cbec@nic.in or hema.priya@nic.in so as to reach by Monday 13th June, 2016 at least by 1600 hrs.
The top 10 suggestions would be selected by a committee of officers and presented in the form of a booklet for the consideration of the PM, mentioning the name of the officer who gave the suggestion.
It is really intriguing as to what the officers can suggest to the Prime Minister for the improvement of tax administration/tax policy. Is there anything which the CBEC/CBDT or the Revenue Department or the Finance Minister cannot do to improve tax administration/policy which the Prime Minister can do.?
If they want higher salaries for the tax officers, the PM cannot really give them and the 7th Pay Commission recommended,
It has been pointed out that the world over, governments have begun to differentiate between tax organizations and the rest of government. It is important for tax organizations to provide a salary structure comparable to professional agencies with whom the tax officials deal.
Analysis and Recommendations
11.18.33 The Commission feels that the Central Government deals with a vast array of subjects. Many department specific services, accordingly, have been constituted to handle these varied sectors. No doubt, revenue generation is an important segment of the government functioning. However, in the government system, working in a particular segment does not become the basis for determining pay. The Commission does not consider this demand justified.
If they want the Boards to be independent and report directly to the Finance Minister, the 7th Pay Commission reported,
The Commission observes that the two separate boards of CBDT and CBEC were constituted by Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963. According to this Act, each such Board shall be subject to the control of Central Government, exercise such powers and perform duties as may be entrusted to that Board by the Central Government. The Commission consulted the Department of Revenue who have stated that this matter has already been examined earlier in the ministry. It was felt that the two Revenue Boards deal with separate areas of taxation, the policies in respect of which need to be properly coordinated and that central tax system has to be viewed, fashioned and organised as a harmonious whole, the work of coordination has to be performed by the Secretary (Revenue) who is in a position to give independent and objective advice from a broader administrative and economic perspective. Since the need to coordinate the policies and the work of the two Boards continue to be essential for strengthening the central tax system, there appears to be no justification to reopen the proposal for making any changes in present hierarchical structure of reporting.
If they want to be fair, honest, judicial, impartial, obedient and above all treat the taxpayer with respect, they need not tell the Prime Minister.
Taxing with Love: Eminent guest speakers will be addressing the Conference. Author, Columnist, Screenplay writer & TV personality Chetan Bhagat will speak on “Taxing with Love”.There will be a panel discussion on “Initiatives to improve Taxpayer Services, leveraging social media and Brand building”.
CBDT mail in F.No.401/ 5 /2016-ITCC., Dated June 12, 2016