Taxation Commissioner bats for zero tolerance approach against Tax Evasion

Asserts that corruption in department will not be tolerated

Holds review meeting at Amritsar

Chandigarh/Amritsar, July 8-

Taxation Commissioner Punjab Mr Kamal Kishor Yadav on Friday asked the officers of the department to adopt zero tolerance policy for checking the pilferage of taxes to enhance revenue generation in the state.

Chairing a meeting of the department with officials of Amritsar Taxation Division to review the Tax collection, the Taxation Commissioner unequivocally said that any sort of laxity in checking tax evasion will not be tolerated. He said that every officer is duty bound to ensure that pilferages of taxes, if any, is checked with a heavy hand. Mr Yadav said that pilferage of taxes causes huge losses to state exchequer which is not at all tolerable adding that department will now further tighten noose against all tax evaders.

Reiterating commitment of Zero tolerance against corruption, the Taxation Commissioner said that severest of severe action will be taken against anyone found indulging in this menace. He said that the services to the people must be provided in a time bound manner without any inordinate delay. Mr Yadav also said that department should set a new benchmark in tax collection and service delivery.

The Taxation Commissioner also batted for early recovery of the pending arrears of taxes. He said that all the officers must embark a major recovery drive for getting the arrears from the wilful defaulters. Mr Yadav said that this is need of hour for enhancing the tax collection in the state.

Welcoming new ideas for Tax reforms from the officers, the Taxation Commissioner said that new out of the box initiatives should be given for tax enhancement. He said that department will replicate such new and dynamic ideas by the officers at the state level too. Mr Yadav also said that department is working tirelessly to further improve tax collection in state.

The Taxation Commissioner further announced that the department has already initiated the necessary action to weed out bogus firms in the state. He said that any such bogus firm which tries to evade tax through illegal means will be dealt with sternly. Mr Yadav said that every officer will be made accountable for operation of any bogus firm in the area under their jurisdiction.

Dwelling on another issue, the Taxation Commissioner said that every officer will ensure that Assessment cases are completed at the earliest. He said that officers should not wait for the end of fiscal year and should rather complete it well before deadline by studying them meticulously.

The Taxation Commissioner further directed the officers enhance their field visits. He said that this helps department in acquainting itself with ground realities on one hand and streamlining the affairs pertaining to taxation on the other. Mr Yadav said that inspections are must for every officer and orders of department in this regard should be adhered to.

The District Tax Bar of Amritsar and GST Practitioners Association also called on Taxation Commissioner on his visit to Amritsar and presented their demands. They also discussed various points including bringing OTS for VAT cases and construction of GST Bhawan at Amritsar. They assured him of all cooperation from their side and appreciated local officials for their accessibility.

He was accompanied by Director, GST Ms Brahmneet Kaur, Additional Commissioners Mr. Ravneet Khurana and Mr. Viraj Shyamkaran Tidke.