Five Chartered Accountancy Bodies Write To PM Modi Over CBDT Memo Seeking More Collections By IT Officials

Worried by the tax officials having been instructed to take “all possible actions” to plug the 14.9 per cent revenue-shortfall for FY19, various chartered accountant bodies wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asking them to hold back the officials, given it was in sharp contrast to the stated motto of the government of ushering in a taxpayer friendly regime.

The said instructions were issued by the CBDT to all principal chief income tax commissioners (CITs) especially with respect to recovery of ‘arrears and current demands’.

CBDT’s internal memo, dated 26 March, pointed out that against the Budget collection target of Rs 12,00,000 crore, only 85.1 per cent or Rs 10,21,251 crore has been collected as on 23 March.

“You must, therefore, as discussed telephonically also, take all possible actions urgently, especially with respect to recovery of arrears and current demand, so as to achieve the targets for collection,” the memo said, reports Times of India.

The letter was jointly issued by the Bombay Chartered Accountants’ Society, Chartered Accountants Association Ahmedabad, Chartered Accountants Association Surat, Karnataka State Chartered Accountants’ Association and Lucknow Chartered Accountants’ Society.

The letter also said that the government must follow the process of law if at all the recovery measures are to be adopted.