Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a platform in order to honour and appreciate the honest taxpayers in the country. The ‘Transparent Taxation – Honouring the Honest’ platform has been launched by the PM through video-conferencing. The government aims to change the way in which taxes are being paid in India now, through this platform.
What did the PM Say at the Inauguration?
The PM has highlighted on various points during the launch of this platform, such as,
- The platform will introduce reforms such as faceless assessment, faceless appeals and taxpayers’ charter. Faceless assessment and taxpayers’ charter will be made live from the inception whereas the feature of faceless appeal will be made available on the platform from September 25, 2020.
- The platform is meant to make life simpler for the taxpayers since they are involved in nation-building and also contributing to the welfare of society. They are not going to be harassed in any way once the platform is live in a full-fledged manner.
- The tax laws have been changed drastically in the last six years and the new governance model has been put in place for tax administration. Complexity, tax litigation have decreased and transparency and tax compliance have increased.
- The number of taxpayers has increased by 2.5 crores after so many reforms but this is still minimal in the country with more than 130 crore people.
Some Recent Initiatives in Direct Taxation System in India
The recent changes and reforms in the area of direct taxation have started since the report of the Vijay Kelkar Committee in 2002. After that, a lot of tax reforms have taken place in the country especially regarding direct taxation:
- Tax Information Network (TIN)
- Electronic Return Acceptance and Consolidation System (ERACS)
- Online Tax Accounting System (OLTAS)
- E-Sahyog Initiative for Paperless Assessment
- Sevottam for efficient grievance redressal
- Pre-filled ITR Forms