New Delhi: The Income Tax (I-T) department has decided to name and shame "chronic" tax defaulters by publicising their names and addresses. It is in the process of finalising the procedures of compiling the names and cases pertaining to habitual tax dodgers and subsequently uploading them on its website.
"The department would upload the names of such defaulters who have either a huge outstanding tax against their name and are absconding or they have been dodging the taxes for a repeated number of times. The public will be informed against such people," a senior I-T official said.
During a recent meeting of its senior officials on this issue in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the department decided that while its public campaign asking taxpayers to pay their dues has bore fruit, there are select cases of "chronic" and "persistent" default which needs to be put in public domain to obtain vital leads in these case.
The department, it is expected, would upload the names and possible addresses of such tax evaders on the lines of the 'Wanted' list uploaded by enforcement agencies like police and investigative agencies like the CBI and the NIA on their portals.
"The department while has taken every measure to reach out to a taxpayer who has not paid his taxes it will also ensure to name and shame such people who blatantly violate the law. We have written to taxpayers, sent notices and even asked for voluntary compliance but some cases are tough to crack and hence we need public help in identifying them and their concealed assets for attachment," the official said.
The I-T may also consider measures to publish the names of such defaulters in other forms of mass communication media like newspapers but that would be done at a later stage, another official said. Also, a reward scheme for informants who could provide any information resulting in collection of "outstanding demand" from such tax defaulters is also being devised.
"The informers name shall be kept secret. Such a scheme exists in the I-T department but it was not felt to be attractive. The new scheme would be better in terms of ensuring reward in fixed time to the informer," the official said.
The I-T department is taking all out measures to catch those defaulting assessees who are either not traceable or whose assets are not identifiable and this is one measure to achieve this aim while the other includes creation of a 'special cell' in the department to track such people.
The proposal to publish the names of chronic tax evaders was first mooted in 2011 during the conference of Chief Commissioners and Director Generals of Income Tax here. According to latest data, the target of cash collection for the I-T arrear demands during the financial year 2012-13 was fixed at Rs 41,115 crore. Out of this, a cash collection of Rs 13,432 crore has been achieved while the total collection of arrears has reached up to Rs 22,882 crore for the fiscal 2011-12.
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