Taxpayer services to be improved soon: CBDT

New Delhi: Taxpayer services will be improved to a great extent in coming days with CBDT announcing that recommendations of a government-appointed panel on  reforms in tax administration will be implemented soon. 

Chairperson of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Anita  Kapur said the Income Tax department was examining the  recommendations of the Tax Administration Reform Commission  (TARC), headed by economist Parthasarathi Shome, for its  implementation soon so that taxpayer services and grievance  redressal issues are resolved on priority.  "We are very committed to see that the tax administration  gets reformed. Whatever the recommendations have been made by  the TARC, we are examining them.

"We are trying to issue a notification soon that at least  for taxpayer services, we will have an independent vertical  which has been one of the major recommendations (of the TARC)  so that taxpayer services and grievances get focused attention  at every level," Kapur told PTI.  TARC was set up by the government to recommend reforms  exclusively in tax administration and was specifically  mandated "to review the application of tax policies and tax  laws in the context of global best practises and to recommend  measures for reforms required in tax administration to enhance  its effectiveness and efficiency".

The Commission had submitted its final recommendations  and report to the Finance Ministry early this year.  The Central Board of Direct Taxes which is the apex  policy-making body of the I-T department and regulates direct  tax collections in the country has also created few committees  to work on the suggestions made by the TARC.  Kapur said resolving issues and complaints of taxpayers  is an area of priority for the department and hence the first  area of implementing TARC recommendations has been chosen as  those pertaining to taxpayers grievances and complaints.

The TARC had also recommended industry-based jurisdiction  instead of the current system of territorial revenue  collection for direct taxes in the country for which the Board  has constituted a committee recently.