Sitharaman asks tax collectors not to overstretch and go with restrain
“These are achievable and realistic deadlines. Therefore, my request to them (tax administrators) is not to overreach or not to overstate themselves in collection of tax. The targets are achievable even if they go with a bit of restrain,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked tax administrators not to be “over stretched” in meeting targets and go with “restrain”.
Speaking to reporters in Pune on the sidelines of an interaction with officials from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and Income Tax department as well as representatives from business community, Sitharaman said deadlines (in tax collection) given to tax officials are “realistic” and “achievable” and they should not overstretch themselves.
“These are achievable and realistic deadlines. Therefore, my request to them (tax administrators) is not to overreach or not to overstate themselves in collection of tax. The targets are achievable even if they go with a bit of restrain,” said Sitharaman after her interaction with the business community of the city.
The minister said the government wants entrepreneurs of the country to carry on with business “without the worry”…so that everyone carries on with their business which essentially creates jobs and wealth. “Therefore, it was important that tax administrators do their jobs in enforcement of their code, but necessarily understanding their business. We communicated this to our tax authorities as part of our trip starting from tier two cities,” she added.
Sitharaman interacted with representatives of trade associations, chartered accountants and heard their concerns. “Punekars were more focussed on simplification of GST forms, deadline-related matters and also about the industry in general. There were people from various sectors which wanted GST rates to be brought down,” said the minister.
She, however, said that it was not in her hands as “the proposal has to go to the GST council and it has to be discussed there.”
Earlier on Friday, Sitharaman came out with various announcements to boost confidence among the private sector. The minister announced a slew of measures which included controversial surcharge on Foreign Portfolio Investors. The minister had also announced recapitalisation of public sector bank to improve lending to retail borrowers and housing finance companies and decriminalising non-compliance Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
