Hyderabad: The Telangana Commercial Taxes department’s initiative to crack the whip against tax defaulters has failed to yield desired results.
Despite the announcement of a cash reward of Rs 50,000 for ‘whistleblowers’ giving important leads so that the department can conduct raids on law violators, the response to the toll free complaint cell is lukewarm.
A separate cell and mobile teams have been established to act on complaints received to toll free number (1800 425 3787). But the calls received are mostly of a trivial nature of traders making allegations against their rivals, general public seeking information on tax procedures etc.
The number of calls did not even touch the three figure mark since the launch of this initiative on Sept.25.
Aggressive campaigning about the toll-free number and cash reward could have helped their cause. The process of seeking details, either name or cell number of the complainant might have also dissuaded many to use the service.
However, Commercial Taxes Commissioner Anil Kumar said that this was just the beginning and a good response can be expected soon.
Calls were received from far off districts indicating that people are getting to know about this initiative slowly, he said. Meanwhile, the toll free number is also acting as a source of information provider now.
The staff members are guiding the public on how to apply for new registrations, e-filing and other procedures besides taking complaints on tax evasions.
