Taxmen get 30-day deadline to find solutions

CBDT sets up directorate of taxpayer services for addressing grievances

New Delhi, Jan. 3: In what could come as a good news for taxpayers in the new year, the Income Tax department has asked its officials to resolve their grievances within 30 days’ time.

The department’s new wing called the ‘Directorate of Tax Payer Services’ has asked all the regional heads of the I-T to ensure that “there are no grievances aged more than 30 days pending at any level” pertaining to complaints of refunds, PAN issues and other Income Tax-related subjects.

In a communication, the Directorate has also underlined the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his review meetings in this regard has “stressed upon adhering to the timeline of 30 days for the redressal of any particular grievance”.

“One of the major reasons for delay in the grievance redressal is failure to identify a competent officer to redress the grievance and lack of knowledge of recent circulars or instructions,” the communication said, adding if the person (tax official) dealing with the grievance identifies the competent IT authority, “a lot of time can be saved.”

The Directorate has also asked the taxman that in case the grievance does not pertain to the authority directed by the CBDT, it “should be transferred back in not more than five days’ time.”

The Directorate, nodal wing for all taxpayer grievances pan-India, has suggested that the official handling the grievance should give “due attention to the grievance at hand” and ensure that the required action is undertaken without any delay.

The communication added that any action like referring the matter to the Bengaluru-based Central Processing Centre (CPC) of the Income Tax department (where Income Tax Returns are e-filed) or a similar centre for Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) processes in Ghaziabad near here, should be intimated in case the issue requires their intervention. — PTI

IN case the grievance does not pertain to the authority directed by the CBDT, it “should be transferred back in not more than five days’ time.”