By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JAN 08, 2017: THE year 2016 was indeed very eventful for the CBDT. Key milestones realised by the Board include Enactment of The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, Implementation of The Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016 and of GAAR from Assessment Year 2018-19; Signing of contract for implementation of Project Insight to develop a comprehensive platform for effective utilization of information to promote voluntary compliance and deter non-compliance.

Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016

To contain huge backlog of cases pending in appeals and reduce unnecessary litigation, the ‘Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016’, was introduced and the same has been extended up to January 31, 2017. Under the Scheme, a taxpayer may seek resolution of appeals, pending with the Commissioner (Appeals) as on 29th February, 2016 in respect of disputed income and disputed wealth, and with any appellate authority in respect of tax arrears (specified tax) resulting out of retrospective amendment.

The Scheme came into effect on the 1st of June, 2016, and shall be open up to January 31, 2017. In order to resolve various issues raised by the stakeholders, a clarification in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) has been issued vide Circular No. 33 dated 12th September, 2016.

e-payment of taxes

E-payment of taxes has been enabled through Net Banking and ATMs and more than 88.49% of tax is collected through this mode facilitating payment to taxes anytime from home/office without having to go to a bank branch. Companies and auditable cases are mandatorily required to electronically pay taxes. The percentage of tax collected using electronic payment option has increased to 74.91% in count terms and 88.49% in value terms during FY 2015-16.

Refund Banker Scheme

With a view to eliminate the interface between the Department and the taxpayer on account of the manual issue and dispatch of refund cheques, the Department decided to streamline and automate the process of printing and sending of refund cheques the Department initiated a centralized system for printing and credit of refund cheques through the State Bank of India which was called the Refund Banker Scheme.

This ensures that taxpayer gets his refunds directly into his bank account or dispatch of the cheque by speed post from 18 different locations of SBI across the country without any intervention and avoiding delays in decentralized posting of cheques. The refunds despatched under this scheme now account for 99% of the refunds (in count) received by the taxpayer without any direct interaction with the Department.

• Non-filers Monitoring System (NMS)

The Non-filers Monitoring System (NMS) has been rolled-out for pilot implementation to prioritize action on non-filers with potential tax liabilities. Data analysis was carried out to identify non-filers about whom specific information was available in the AIR, CIB and TDS/TCS Returns database. The number of non-filers with potential tax liabilities identified in various NMS cycles is as under:

• NMS cycle 1 (2013): 12.19 lakh
• NMS Cycle 2 (2014): 22.09 lakh
• NMS Cycle 3 (2015): 44.07 lakh
• NMS Cycle 4 (2015): 58.95 lakh

Under this initiative, more than 94 lac returns have been filed and self-assessment tax of more than Rs. 16,500 crore has been paid by the target segment.

Project Insight

The Income Tax Department signed contract for implementation of Project Insight in July 2016. Project Insight aims to develop a comprehensive platform for effective utilization of information to promote voluntary compliance and deter noncompliance; to impart confidence that all eligible persons pay appropriate tax; and to promote fair and judicious tax administration.

The Project would play a key role in data mining to track tax evaders and widening of the tax-base. The new technical infrastructure will also be leveraged for implementation of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Inter Governmental Agreement (FATCA IGA) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

The Project envisages the creation of two new centres, namely (i) a new Compliance Management Central Processing Centre (CMCPC) for handling PAN population, master data management, preliminary verification, generation of bulk letters/notices and follow-up for greater productivity and efficiency; and (ii) an Income Tax Transaction Analysis Centre (INTRAC) for data integration, data processing, data quality monitoring, data analytics, web and text mining, enterprise reporting, alert and compliance management and research support.

The Project will be rolled out in a phased manner during the period 2016-18.