Staff crunch hits I-T work, post note ban

Already grappling with staff crunch, the Income Tax (I-T) Department is struggling to complete the verification of bank accounts where large sums of money have been deposited after the demonetisation announcement.

According to the Income Tax Employees Federation (ITEF), there is a shortage of staff in the I-T Department at almost all levels across the country. “The department is facing a staff crunch and there is almost 37% shortage of staff at all levels. The work force crunch at the top level is less, but there is a huge scarcity at the middle and lower levels. Due to a lack of tax inspectors, the ground handling work is also getting affected. Following the demonetisation announcement, the process of verification of account transactions has added an unprecedented workload which the department is struggling with,” Ashok Kumar Kanojia, president of ITEF, said. Kanojia added: “Infrastructure bottlenecks like computer systems, lack of space and slow speed of internet are adding more pressure on the department.” Ram Kumar, an I-T official, said: “Despite repeated representations given to the government, it seems that the government is not giving any attention to our problems. The government has not yet fulfilled its promise of providing laptops to I-T personnel. Privacy at workspace and data security are also a few concerns that need to be sorted out.”

“Besides its routine work, the department now also has to verify suspected accounts, send notices and follow it up, as a large number of cases may come up once the process of verification and notice gets over and it is going to be a massive exercise,” Kumar added. The Confederation of Central Government Employees & Workers and ITEF have given a one-day strike call on 15 February to get their demands accepted.