New Delhi, Jan 22: The income-tax department will honour tax payers in three categories -- business, profession and salary -- as part of the Samman scheme finalised by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Friday.CBDT chairman Ravi Kant said that the scheme will be operative at national and local level involving 461 offices of the income-tax department.
At the national level, he said, all individual tax payers in the three categories having declared income of Rs 20 lakh or more in four out of five preceding years will be eligible. One top tax payer in the country in each category will be given Ayakar Ratna.
Similarly, at the regional level, an individual tax payer in each of the three categories having declared highest income in the preceding year in the particular region of chief commissioner will be honoured.
The awardees at the national level will be honoured with Samman cards, and at regional and local levels with Samman Patras.
The scheme will be operational from the current assessmentyear and the first awards will be given in the first quarter of next year.
As far as benefits to awardees were concerned, Kant said that the scheme was envisaging public felicitation if the awardees so wish. In addition, the incentives include tax-clearance certificates for three years for transacting in immovable properties and going abroad; no scrutiny of returns for three years, except in very special circumstances,; prompt issue of refunds and time bound disposal of rectification applications; and also tax payers' representatives in direct tax advisory committees will be from among the Samman awardees.
However, the CBDT chief clarified that certain categories of taxpayers will not be eligible for the awards. These include those against whom penalty for concealment of income was impsoed in the last five years which has not been cancelled; defaulted in timely submission of returns or payment of taxes in last five years; interest and penalty waived by settlement commission or commissioner; where a personhas been searched in last five years; and failure to obtain or apply for PAN.
Kant further added that the scheme will be suitably modified with the experience gained. According to the CBDT chief, there was a delay in announcement of the scheme because the board received large number of representations and had to appoint a committee to sift through suggestions and cull out points of common agreement. Samman was the last of the three schemes announced by finance minister Yashwant Sinha in his budget scheme. The other two were Saral and Samadhan.
What Samman Means
Top taxpayer in 461 circles gets regional Samman Patras. Individuals - businessmen, professionals or salaried people - with a declared income of over Rs 20 lakh in four of past 5 years get national Samman CardsNo scrutiny of tax returns for Samanees for three years Automatic tax clearance for 3 years for property transactions or foreign travelPrompt settlement of dues, problemsBetter waiting rooms and taxassistance centres for the restSamman with voluntary disclosure
Samman will go to the rich who manage to stay rich. What is being judged is not honesty per se, but the amount of tax garnered from assessees. Even this will be worthwhile, if the Government statutorily bars voluntary disclosures and Samadhan schemes which condone tax evasion. Will Samman make a perceptible difference to direct tax collections? Unlikely.
The tax laws are riddled with exemptions, especially in the case of business and professions. Avoidance will be more tempting than Samman. Net of avoidance -- only the super rich will collect samman cards and patras.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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