Rs 28,000 crore blocked as I-T tribunal ignores big fishes’
9 Oct 2014 5:44 AM IST
What came as a sordid revelation is that officials - in some of the cases - were found to be working harder on those cases that have lesser monitory value, and lesser impact on the national exchequer, while the cases with higher monitory values were overlooked or could not be proceeded on due to lack of communication among the various wings of the finance ministry.
In its soon-to-be tabled report, the CAG has found that the main reason behind these serious flaws was the department’s ignorant attitude in following the National Litigation Policies (NLP) at various stages, which was formed on 23 June, 2010. ‘There is a declining trend in the disposal cases based on prosecution and penalties, which is worryingly on the rise. There should be stringent measures to check the issue to save the continuous loss to the national exchequer which has crossed immensely in recent years,’ some of the excerpts of the CAG report says. ‘There is an urgent need to analyse their policies carefully and a time bound action plan put in place to dispose of long pending cases,’ it further reads.
The national auditor has also reprimanded the Department of Revenue’s (Direct Taxes) Income Tax Department (ITD) for engaging prosecution machinery on those who have committed technical offences.
On the context of Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, the audit says that agencies like CBDT and others failed to work hand in hand to arrest tax evasion by prosecution, which is leading to continuous loss to the national exchequer. ‘The appointment of nodal officers must be done carefully, which was not found in many of the cases. This led to the clogging of funds, which has jumped to nearly 40 per cent this year as compared to 2011,’ sources said.
CAG has suggested the concerned departments to appoint nodal officers who have legal background and expertise. ‘They should be efficient enough to manage litigation. It is also suggested that frequent changes of such officers hamper the prosecution and the recovery process and this should be avoided,’ say sources.
In its soon-to-be tabled report, the CAG has found that the main reason behind these serious flaws was the department’s ignorant attitude in following the National Litigation Policies (NLP) at various stages, which was formed on 23 June, 2010. ‘There is a declining trend in the disposal cases based on prosecution and penalties, which is worryingly on the rise. There should be stringent measures to check the issue to save the continuous loss to the national exchequer which has crossed immensely in recent years,’ some of the excerpts of the CAG report says. ‘There is an urgent need to analyse their policies carefully and a time bound action plan put in place to dispose of long pending cases,’ it further reads.
The national auditor has also reprimanded the Department of Revenue’s (Direct Taxes) Income Tax Department (ITD) for engaging prosecution machinery on those who have committed technical offences.
On the context of Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, the audit says that agencies like CBDT and others failed to work hand in hand to arrest tax evasion by prosecution, which is leading to continuous loss to the national exchequer. ‘The appointment of nodal officers must be done carefully, which was not found in many of the cases. This led to the clogging of funds, which has jumped to nearly 40 per cent this year as compared to 2011,’ sources said.
CAG has suggested the concerned departments to appoint nodal officers who have legal background and expertise. ‘They should be efficient enough to manage litigation. It is also suggested that frequent changes of such officers hamper the prosecution and the recovery process and this should be avoided,’ say sources.
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