Ombudsman to take care of tax grievances

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: For the first time, a tax payer is empowered to vent his grievances against officers of the Income Tax Department. The tax payer can file a complaint on issues about which he is aggrieved as set out in this article.

On the recommendations of a committee consisting of the secretary, Department of Revenue in the ministry of finance, the chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Member (Personnel), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the Central government may appoint one or more persons as Ombudsman. The ombudsman will be appointed for a tenure of 2 years extendable by one year based on performance appraisal or till the incumbent attains the age of 63 years, whichever is earlier. There would be no re-appointment of the same person.

A complaint on any one or more of the following grounds alleging deficiency in the working of the Income Tax Department may be filed by a tax payer with the ombudsman.

(a) Delay in issue of refunds beyond time limits prescribed by the law or under the relevant instructions issued from time to time by the Central Board of Direct Taxes;

(b) Sending of envelopes without refund vouchers in cases of refund;

(c) Non-adherence to the principle of ‘First Come First Served' in sending refunds;

(d) Non-acknowledgment of letters or documents sent to the Department;

(e) Non-up-dating of demand and other registers leading to harassment of assessees;

(f) Lack of transparency in identifying cases for scrutiny and non-communication of reasons for selecting the case for scrutiny;

(g) Delay in disposing of cases of interest waiver;

(h) Delay in disposal of rectification applications;

(i) Delay in giving effect to appellate orders;

(j) Delay in release of books of account and assets, after the proceedings in respect of the relevant years for which the books of account or other documents were seized, are completed ;

(k) Delay in allotment of permanent account number (PAN) ;

(l) Non-credit of tax paid, including tax deducted at source;

(m) Non-adherence to prescribed working hours by income-tax officials;

(n) Unwarranted rude behaviour of income-tax officials with assessees;

(o) Any other matter relating to violation of the administrative instructions and circulars issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes in relation to income-tax administration.

The Ombudsman will have the power to

(a) Receive complaints from taxpayers on any matters specified above ;