Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. File
| Picture Credit score: Okay. Murali Kumar
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday (August 21, 2024) requested tax officers to make use of less complicated phrases in notices or letters they despatched to taxpayers and train energy bestowed upon them judiciously.
Addressing the one hundred and sixty fifth Revenue Tax Day celebrations, Ms. Sitharaman stated that after adopting the faceless regime, the tax officers should now aspire to be extra “honest and pleasant” of their dealings with taxpayers.
The tax notices shouldn’t set off a “sense of concern” among the many taxpayers and as a substitute, it needs to be easy and easy, she added.
The discover ought to make it “crystal clear” to the assessee the explanation for which a discover was being despatched to him/her, the minister famous.
Ms. Sitharaman additionally stated there was room for enchancment in issuing refunds quicker.
Asking taxmen to keep away from “ham-handed methods” in coping with taxpayers, the minister stated that the motion taken needs to be proportionate to the difficulty at hand.
She additionally requested taxpayers to make use of enforcement measures solely as a final resort, and the objective of the division needs to be to encourage voluntary compliance.
The minister additionally underlined that when she says that the tax division needs to be extra pleasant and clear, it doesn’t imply that the tax officers had been unfair all these years.
“Can we discover issuing easy and easy-to-understand notices? Clarify the explanation behind why the motion was taken and why the discover was being despatched,” Ms. Sitharaman stated.
Stating that she would stand with the tax division, the minister stated that tax officers ought to proceed to carry out their sovereign duties.
