Justice S J Vazifdar retired from the office of Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 3rd May 2018. The learned Judge was given a warm farewell by the members of the Bar and the staff of the Court. As the attached video shows, hundreds of people assembled on the ramp overlooking the portico and cheered the learned Judge
The CBDT has issued a directive dated 7th May 2018 stating that the delay in giving appeal effect and passing rectification orders is the biggest source of grievance against the Department. It is pointed out that such delays also adversely affect the performance of the Department as the infructuous demand remains stuck in appeal orders and rectification petitions till these are disposed of by the assessing officer. With a view to expeditiously dispose off the appeal effect and rectification claims of the taxpayers, the CBDT has directed that the first fortnight of June, 2018 should be dedicated for attending to the pending claims in these areas
The CBDT has issued Notification No. 06 of 2018 dated 11th May 2018 and Office Order No. 65 of 2018 dated 11th May 2018 relating to the appointment of several Joint and Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax
The Tax Bench of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court with effect from 4th June 2018 is as follows
The CBDT has vide Order No. 6018 of 2018 dated 03.05.2018 ordered the transfers and postings of several Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax. The CBDT has vide another Order No. 61 of 2018 dated 04.05.2018 ordered the transfers and postings of several officers in the grade of Assistant/ Deputy Commissioners of Income-tax
The Hon’ble President of the ITAT has issued an order dated 20th April 2018 stating that the following two Members of the ITAT have been transferred:
(i) Shri Waseem Ahmed, Accountant Member, ITAT, Kolkata Benches has been transferred to ITAT Ahmedabad Benches with effect from 26 Apr 2018 (A/N)
(ii) Shri Narendra Kumar Billaiya, Accountant Member, ITAT, Ahmedabad Benches has been transferred to ITAT Delhi Benches with effect from 26 Apr 2018 (A/N).
The CBDT has issued a sternly worded directive dated 16th April 2018 stating that a number of complaints are being received in the Tax Payer Services Directorate regarding harassment, misconduct and high handedness of Officers and staff.
It is stated that such incidents damage the image and reputation of the Income Tax Department and dent the efforts of the Department to position itself as a service oriented organization.
All officers and staff have been instructed to deal with the public not only with administrative efficiency but also with the requisite soft skills.
It is stated that the behaviour needs to be impeccable not only in the performance of their official duties but also decorous outside the office.
The provocation for the directive appears to be the reprimand issued by Hon’ble President Kovind that the income-tax department is a “service provider” which should be “sensitive to the demands and dignity of the person”.
“Tax payer is your partner, not your adversary,” the Hon’ble President reminded the income-tax department
The recent Tax Refund Scam involving a bogus Chartered Accountant and several employees of reputed companies such as IBM, Vodafone, Saplabs, Biocon, Infosys, ICICI Bank, CISCO, Thomson Reuters has spooked the CBDT.
The employees had, on the advice of the bogus CA, filed nearly 1000 returns and made fradulent claims of refunds aggregating Rs. 18 crore.
The CPC has now issued an advisory stating that the Income Tax Department has an extensive risk analysis system aimed at identifying persons who are non-compliant and aim to subvert the trust based system envisioned while processing of ITRs at CPC Bangalore. In all such cases of high risk, the Department may examine and verify the details submitted by taxpayers in their ITR,subsequent to processing of returns in CPC.
It is warned in clear terms that if the Department notices any fraudulent claims in the returns, such tax payers may be punishable under various provisions of the Income Tax Act. This may also delay issuance of refunds in such cases.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued a press release dated 12th April 2018 stating that an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer who is presently posted as Commissioner of Income-tax and two “Advocates and Chartered Accountants” have been arrested for demanding a bribe of Rs. 40 lakh for passing a favourable order.
The Hon’ble President of the ITAT has issued an order dated 10th April 2018 stating that Shri Sabeer Singh Godara, Judicial Member, ITAT, Ahmedabad Benches, Ahmedabad, is transferred in the same capacity to ITAT, Kolkata Benches, Kolkata, in public interest, with effect from 23th April 2018 (F/N)
Recent Comments