Simplify tax notices: FM to I-T officials

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 21

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged the Income Tax Department to work towards being identified as fair and friendly to taxpayers.

“The Income Tax Department needs to aspire to be the most fair and friendly too along with faceless. Friendliness in income tax is needed but not at the cost of sovereign duty. We need to place trust on the assessees,” she said while presiding over the Income Tax Day celebrations in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Marking the 165 years of Income Tax, Sitharaman emphasised on the need for simplification of language of income tax notices and letters.

She also stressed that the tax notices need to be simplified so that people understand them better. “The language used in tax notices, should be simple for the average taxpayer to understand. There is need to explore simpler tax notices, including explanation of reason behind the notice sent,” Sitharaman said.

She said the issuance of FAQs, clarifications will not be needed if the language is made simple. She added that the experience of filing the returns on the first day should be the same as the last day, instead of frightening them.

“Be more amiable. Use enforcement measures as a last resort and action taken is proportionate to the issue. Fears compound when action taken is disproportionate,” she added.