By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, NOV 15, 2023: A Taxpayers' Lounge has been set up by the Income Tax Department in India International Trade Fair, 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi being held from 14th to 27th November, 2023. It aims to foster awareness about the services provided by the Income Tax Department and to showcase its various initiatives in the areas of digitalization, transparent taxation, e-PAN, e-filing, online grievance redressal etc. for easing voluntary compliance.

Nitin Gupta, Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) inaugurated the Taxpayers' Lounge today i.e on 15.11.2023 at Hall No. 5, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi in the presence of Members of the CBDT and senior officers of the Income Tax Department.

Chairman, CBDT also released three Digital Comic books on the 'Motu Patlu' series, as developed by the Department. These comics explain to the young readers the concepts of Income Tax in a fun and easy manner and will be available on the national Website of the Department.

In line with the IITF's theme 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam-United by Trade,' the exhibits and interactive displays of the Taxpayers' Lounge highlight how the Income Tax Department facilitates trade.

Further, the Taxpayers' Lounge also seeks to educate taxpayers about various taxpayer-facilitation initiatives undertaken by the Department in recent times and also to create awareness among children and young adults (future taxpayers) about the importance of taxes in nation-building. With these main objectives, various services have been provided in the Taxpayers' Lounge such as:

i. Assistance in application for PAN/e-PAN, PAN-Aadhaar linking and PAN related queries.

ii. Assistance in e-Filing and Form 26AS (tax-credit)/AIS related queries.

iii. Assistance in queries on Faceless Assessment and compliance-related in e- Proceedings.

iv. Providing Taxpayer Information Series brochures on various topics.

v. Providing Information regarding initiatives on International Taxation.

Recognising the importance of engaging with the younger generation in educating them about the contribution of taxes in nation building, the Lounge also has an interactive Children's corner. The Children's corner has features like Comic Books, Board Games, Virtual Reality Games, 'Aaycar' Game, etc. Children can also interact with the Department's 3 copyrighted comic character mascots, namely, 'Jaankari Babu', 'Tax Pari' and Taxa'.

Nukkad Natak, Quiz shows, Magic shows, drawing/painting competitions for children etc. on the themes of taxation and nation-building have also been organised in the Lounge.

The Taxpayers' Lounge is also a medium for interacting with the taxpayers/stakeholders and for obtaining feedback about any issues being faced by them. Thus, the Taxpayers' Lounge, is not only an outreach initiative but also a platform for exhibiting the Department's role as a service-provider and a facilitator.