Punjab Taxation Commissioner Kamal Kishor Yadav on Friday asked the officers of the department to adopt zero tolerance policy for checking the pilferage of taxes to enhance revenue generation in the state.
Chairing a meeting of the department with officials of Amritsar Taxation Division to review the tax collection, the taxation commissioner unequivocally said that any sort of laxity in checking tax evasion will not be tolerated. He said that every officer is duty bound to ensure that pilferages of taxes, if any, is checked with a heavy hand. Yadav said that pilferage of taxes causes huge losses to state exchequer which is not at all tolerable, adding that the department will now further tighten noose against all tax evaders.
Reiterating commitment of zero tolerance against corruption, the taxation commissioner said that severest of severe action will be taken against anyone found indulging in this menace. He said that services to the people must be provided in a time-bound manner without any inordinate delay. Yadav also said that the department should set a new benchmark in tax collection and service delivery.
He batted for early recovery of the pending arrears of taxes and said that all the officers must embark on a major recovery drive for getting the arrears from the wilful defaulters. Yadav said that this is the need of the hour for enhancing the tax collection in the state.
Welcoming new ideas for tax reforms from the officers, he said that out-of-the-box initiatives should be given for tax enhancement. He said that the department will replicate such new and dynamic ideas by the officers at the state level too. Yadav also said that the department is working tirelessly to further improve tax collection in the state.
The taxation commissioner further announced that the department has already initiated the necessary action to weed out bogus firms in the state. He said that any such bogus firm which tries to evade tax through illegal means will be dealt with sternly. He also said that every officer will be made accountable for the operation of any bogus firm in the area under their jurisdiction.
Dwelling on another issue, the taxation commissioner said that every officer will ensure assessment cases are completed at the earliest. He said that officers should not wait for the end of the fiscal year and should rather complete it well before the deadline, by studying them meticulously.
He further directed the officers to enhance their field visits and said that this helps the department in acquainting itself with ground realities on one hand, and streamlining the affairs pertaining to taxation on the other. Yadav said that inspections are must for every officer and orders of department in this regard should be adhered to.
The District Tax Bar of Amritsar and GST Practitioners Association also called on the taxation commissioner on his visit to Amritsar and presented their demands. They discussed various points including bringing OTS for VAT cases and construction of GST Bhawan in Amritsar. They assured him of cooperation from their side and appreciated local officials for their accessibility.
He was accompanied by Director, GST, Brahmneet Kaur, and Additional Commissioners, Ravneet Khurana and Viraj Shyamkaran Tidke.