After note ban, absence of leadership: I-T officers

income is deposited in the PMGKY scheme with a lock-in period of four years at zero interest rate.

When contacted by The Indian Express, the CBDT said in a statement: “There is no chaos. Instructions are clear without any ambiguity. The high risk persons who did not respond to information about their deposits on departmental portal were subjected to on-the-spot verification. No officer was pressurised. No taxpayer was forced for PMGKY. It was only a voluntary scheme.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Bhattacharya confirmed that he had written the letter, but said, “I don’t want to comment.”

In the letter, Bhattacharya wrote: “Suddenly, Assessing Officers were (being) asked to conduct surveys .... (and) pressurize the recalcitrant assessees to commit to participating in PMGKY.”

He added that “later the track changed to persuading the assesses to come under PMGKY over telephone, although this approach is diametrically opposite to the essence of the SOP... that there should not be any inter-personal interaction with the assesses...”

“Then followed the directions from the higher-ups to summon the assesses by issuing notices u/s 131, another blatant deviation (of the SOP),” he wrote.

Writing that all these directions were issued verbally, thus making the Assessing Officers “completely vulnerable to grievances and resentment of the general assessee”, Bhattarcharya asked Chandra to issue “unambiguous uniform guidelines...in writing” and “categorical direction on initiation of any coercive measures...in writing”.

Pointing at the arbitrariness and “apparent illegality involved” in such directions, he wrote, “Whenever new directions are being issued by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, it is told in a routine manner that the direction had been issued by the Board during the video conferences or through confidential communication. Unfortunately, neither the Assessing Officers nor the assessees are privy to these sources.”

In a scathing criticism of the top establishment, he wrote: “What is bothering the Assessing Officers most is the complete absence of leadership. Nobody knows what actually is to be done. Directions given are being changed on hourly basis, impossible targets for PMGKY are being set, daily reports containing 20-24 columns including information like no. of persons committed for PMGKY, amount committed etc. are being called on immediate basis.”

Pointing that “undue pressure” was being exerted under PMGKY, Bhattacharya wrote that “field-level officers are still facing the brunt of the idiosyncrasies of their higher-ups and expecting the worst.”

“What is at stake is not only the position of the Assessing Officers but also the image of the Department in the eyes of the general public,” read the letter.