Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Direct tax arrears up by Rs 240 billion in 2001-02

Subhomoy Bhattacharjee

The total direct tax arrears in the country have jumped up by Rs 240 billion in the past fiscal, according to the figures compiled by the revenue department.

The unprecedented rise is more than eight times the amount that Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said was the cost of the rollbacks while moving the Finance Bill on Friday.

The jump is in addition to the amount that has been locked up in court cases, including those stayed by the settlement commission, income tax appellate tribunals and income tax authorities, which amounted to Rs 296.62 billion till January 2002. The corresponding figure was Rs 47.06 billion in 2000-01 and Rs 57.81 billion in 1999-2000.

According to the revenue department, though the figure was shown as arrears, a sizable portion of it had not become due for payment till March 31, 2002. A demand becomes due only when a notice is served on the assessee.

The department has acknowledged that even after taking these riders into considerations, the rise is steep. As a result, the total outstanding tax demands under all heads will go far beyond the Rs 741.43 billion arrears calculated for the year 2000-01.

The department says it has taken up weekly monitoring of appeals in income tax cases to reduce the pendencies.

It claims that since the number of Income Tax appellate tribunals has risen from 38 to 55 within a year along with a rise in the number of commissioners of appeals from 190 to 289, appellate work in most income tax jurisdictions will be completed during the course of the year.

Sources, however, said the main reason for the rise in tax arrears beyond the purview of courts was the rationalisation by the revenue department, because of which several jurisdictions were repeatedly altered throughout the previous fiscal. The department in answers to parliamentary questions, however, has said it is difficult to quantify the losses.

Instead, it has claimed that as a result of the reorganisation, it will be well placed to deal with key areas of non-compliance and there will be an additional mop-up of around Rs 100 billion.

Powered by

ALSO READ:
The Rediff Budget Special
The Rediff-Business Standard Special
Money

Tell us what you think of this report