Tax department must trust assessees: Arun Jaitley

Arun Jaitley also said that all grey areas are being made clearer when it comes to taxation and the tax department. 

“Ease of communicating with tax department is going to continue. All the grey areas, the unclear areas I think by virtue of clarifications and notifications are now increasingly becoming clear,” Jaitley said. 

“In the last few months, procedures have been simplified and the assessees have never seen such an easy and friendly approach of the taxation department,” he noted.

His remarks also come against the backdrop of various initiatives being taken to ensure that the taxation system becomes more friendly towards taxpayers. Listing out various measures aimed at simplifying the procedures, Jaitley said dispute resolution mechanism has been put in place at the appeals stage with respect to tax matters. 

Participating at a programme jointly organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Finance and Commerce and Industry Ministries on Saturday, Jaitley said the tax rate would be reasonable while the tax base has to be much larger and the tax department has to start trusting the assessee and the taxpayer. 

In a strong message to those evading tax, Jaitley said such people would face serious action and that the government is plugging the escape routes.

Currently, the country has a taxpayer base of about 5.4 crore people.