Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 30: The Income Tax Department and Central GST Department organized an “Outreach Programme & Interactive Session” at ICAI Bhawan, Jammu today to find out about the expectations of the people of the Jammu from the forthcoming Union Budget and to make the public aware about the various technological and other initiatives taken by the Department to increase transparency and ease of compliance and to provide better taxpayer’s services.
The session was followed by “Walk in Taxpayers facilitation Camp,” organized by the Income Tax Department at Aayakar Sewa Kendra, Jammu to address the queries/grievances relating to Income Tax matters. This camp will continue on December Ist, 2021. Similar program and Tax payers facilitation camps will be held by both the departments in the next fortnight in all the districts of Jammu region.
The programme was attended by representatives of the PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Chamber of Traders Federation, Bari Brahmana Industries Association, J&K Branch of NIRC of ICAI, Tax Bar Association and Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, (ReFAC)(AU), Jammu Mona Singh, Pr Commissioner of CGST Mahesh Rustogi, Baljeet Kaur Addl Commissioner of Income Tax, Range-Jammu, Rakesh Kumar Addl. Commissioner of Income Tax, (ReFAC)(AU), Range-1 &2, Jammu , Amit Sharma JCIT, CGST and other officers from Income Tax & CGST Department at Jammu. All the participants have been sent a google survey form by the IT Department to ascertain the difficulties being faced, the suggestions to improve the working of the Department and expectations from the Budget.
In the welcome address Rakesh Kumar Addl CIT, all the participants that the program is the beginning of an open communication between the Departments and the stakeholders and it has been made possible at such a short notice due to the active support of J&K branch of NIRC of ICAI who had provided the venue for the meeting.
Mona Singh informed about the various steps taken by the Department to ease compliance like introduction of Faceless Assessment Scheme, Faceless Appeals, pre filling of Income Tax returns , relaxation in the norms for prosecution, Tax Incentives for Start-Ups, along with steps taken to promote digital transactions,. She also informed that the net tax collections of Rs 7.02 lakh crore as on 23.11.2021 for current Financial Year 2021-2022 has increased not only as compared to last financial year 2020-2021 figures of 4.28 lakh crore but also from the figures of Rs 5.63 crores for Financial year 2019-20
Baljeet Kaur, Addl.CIT, Range Jammu emphasized that the two ways of bridging the trust deficit is through enhanced use of technology in Tax Administration and through the tax authorities reaching out to public and interacting with the stake holders. She requested the stakeholders in the UT of J&K and Ladakh to freely share their expectations from the upcoming Union Budget 2022 and also from the tax authorities.
She further stated that IT department has most of the data of the assessee’s transactions in digitized form which is shared with the assessee in the form of new revamped Annual Information Statement (AIS) commonly known as Form 26AS. The tax payers should consider the information provided therein while filing their Income Tax Returns.
Mahesh Kumar Rustogi, Principal Commissioner CGST emphasized that to become Atam Nirbhar, efforts have to be there to Make in India as much as possible and to move towards digital systems . He informed that the number of UPI transactions using BHIM have increases substantially. In his presentation on GST he explained that the Rollout of GST in 2017 was a major reform wherein cascading effect of the taxes was mitigated i.e. many of the state and central taxes (C. Ex. Duty, ST, VAT, Purchase Tax, Entry Tax Luxury tax etc) were subsumed into one tax i.e. GST. Now it is One Nation One Tax i.e. tax is on the supply of goods or services at a uniform rate throughout the country. He informed that with the subsuming of multiple taxes into GST it has brought transparency. There are NIL GST Rates or low Rates for goods required for basic consumption such as grains, salt, jaggery, vegetables, fruits etc. There is common portal for taxpayers & officers and processes have been simplified and automated (online – registration, returns, tax payments, refund etc). He elaborated on composition levy scheme, e-invoice under GST, benefits for MSMEs under GST, amnesty scheme, relaxation in compliances, Budgetary Support Scheme and COVID measures.
During the interactive session Rahul Sahai, Chairman, Ph D Chamber of Commerce & Industry Jammu raised the issue of technical glitches being faced on portal of e-filing, issues in registration of start-ups, IT exemptions, delay in realizing tax refunds and losses being suffered by the industry sector in view of the peculiar problems being faced by the region viz-a-viz their counterparts in other parts of the country. Sahai also submitted a detailed memorandum projecting demands/ suggestions.
Arun Gupta, president, Chamber Commerce & Industries raised the issue of delay in completing the cases in `Vivad-se-Vishwas Scheme’, invoking penal provisions for delay in compliance which is mostly due to malfunctioning of e-filing portal. He also pointed out that there has been many cases of mismatch of TDS and 26 AS due to which the tax payers suffers and this issue should be addressed immediately. He requested that dates for filing of Income Tax Return should be extended further.
Neeraj Anand, president, Chamber of Traders Federation highlighted the problems being faced by the small traders and MSMEs due to transition of J&K as UT from state. He requested to regulate the businesses coming in form other neighboring states to the UT of J&K and reduce the trust deficit between Govt and traders. He said that withholding of refunds pressurizes traders fraternity as it causes severe liquidity crunch in these difficult times.
CA Viney Jamwal, Chairman J&K branch of ICAI, Jammu requested the officers to address the issue of old refund matters and appeal effect cases which are pending with the department. Addl. Commissioner of Income Tax, Rakesh Kumar, requested him to share the details and assured that every possible steps shall be taken to resolve the genuine grievances of the tax payers and wherever need arises the issue(s) shall be escalated to the authorities concerned. Jamwal highlighted the problem of tax demand raised which is caused by the non-compliance to the TDS provisions made by the tax deductors/collectors at source.
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