GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL MECHANISM IN ITD.pptx

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1. GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL MECHANISM IN ITD SUNIL KUMAR GAUR AADIT, TRG-2, NADT RC DELHI

2. What is Income Tax Grievance? An income tax grievance refers to a complaint or issue raised by a taxpayer against the income tax department. This can be related to a variety of concerns, such as incorrect tax assessments, delayed refunds, or other issues. Income tax grievances can be raised through an online portal or by visiting the local income tax office.

3. Reasons for taxpayers grievances Income tax grievances can arise due to various reasons, such as: Incorrect tax assessments – This could happen if the income tax department has calculated the tax liability incorrectly, resulting in an incorrect tax demand notice. Delayed refunds – If a taxpayer has filed their income tax returns and is eligible for a refund, but the refund has not been processed or received within the stipulated time. Rectification of tax returns – If a taxpayer has made a mistake in their tax return filing, they can file for rectification under section 154 of the Income Tax Act. Discrepancies in tax credit – Taxpayers can face discrepancies in their tax credit if the TDS deducted by their employer or other parties has not been credited to their income tax account. Issues related to tax exemptions – If a taxpayer is eligible for a tax exemption but has not received it, they can file a grievance. Issues related to High pitched assessment – Sometimes, small taxpayers are assessed at income which is many times of returned income and are based on incorrect and illegal use of some discretionary powers. Harassment during search and survey

4. Organisational set up In the ITD, a hierarchy of Grievance Cells has been created which is as under: Central Grievance Cell directly under the Chairperson, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and headed by an officer of the rank of a Director called Director of Grievances. Regional Grievance Cell : under the CCsIT or DGsIT Grievance Cell: under the out station CsIT or DsIT Besides the procedures for paper grievances laid down in MOP, Centralized Public Grievance Redressal Administration System (CPGRAMS) 39 of Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances is a portal through which online grievances are received and the same are monitored and controlled by CBDT. The portal facilitates the ITD to handle grievance petitions filed online, and allows the petitioner to know the status of petition, and also to give a reminder to the ITD. The Central Government has also issued guidelines, i.e., "The Income Tax Ombudsman Guidelines 2010", effective from 1 May 2010. The Ombudsman is independent of the jurisdiction of the ITD.

5. Procedure on receiving the grievance Upon receipt the original petition is sent to the respective Grievance Cell and allotted a running number to the received grievance. The officer receiving the grievance shall keep a copy of the grievance and act on it. On the basis of action taken, a compliance report has to be sent to the grievance cell as per protocol.  All grievances have to be addressed within a reasonable time frame. If it is not possible to help the petitioner, the same should be informed accordingly and timely.   All grievances must be pursued till closure and the redressal officer must report compliance within a specified period of time. The Commissioner/ Chief Commissioner should analyze grievances and take systematic measures to prevent recurrence of grievances. Action may be taken against delinquent officers if necessary. Maintenance of registers and reports: Every grievance cell and assessing officer has to maintain a grievance register. Where ASK is functional, well-designed software ( i ) registers the grievances of taxpayers; (ii) allots unique numbers and (iii) transfers the grievances to respective sections for resolution and (iv) keeps track of such grievances. With the software, there is no need to keep manual registers for keeping the record of grievances.

6. Need for Grievance Redressal Grievance redressal is a major aspect of the department’s public relations exercise. The Department has created an elaborate grievance redressal machinery, to cater to this aspect. This machinery is created with the following objects:- i ) Prompt redressal of every public grievance ii) Safeguarding the rights and dignity of a taxpayer in a democratic set-up iii) Enforcing higher standards of accountability on officers and staff of the department by taking disciplinary action against erring persons in selected cases iv) Gaining insight into the working of the system through the feedback received from the public with a view to effecting appropriate changes in the syste v) Using public grievance as an input for the functioning of the department’s vigilance machinery For this purpose, a hierarchy of Grievance Cells has been created in the Department, as under:- a) Central Grievance Cell under the Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes b) Regional Grievance Cells under the Chief Commissioners of/ Director Generals of Income-tax c) Grievance Cell under the out station Commissioners of Income-tax

7. How Long Does It Take To Resolve Grievance In Income Tax? Generally,  income tax grievances are rectified within 8 weeks after the petition is received. However, most grievances are addressed within one month from their date of receipt.   Furthermore, if a grievance comes from the Prime Minister’s or Finance Minister’s Office or the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the  income tax grievance resolution time is of 21 days.  

8. Grievance Redressal Mechanism under ITD Central Processing Centre (CPC) of Income Tax Department, has a Grievance handling team to address queries of taxpayers and the following services are categorised on the basis of nature of queries: Centralized Processing Center - Income Tax Return (CPC-ITR):  For ITR-related queries, the CPC-ITR is your point of contact. They deal with communication delays, demand discrepancies, feedback, verification processes, rectification requests, and refunds. Centralized Processing Center - TDS (CPC-TDS):  CPC-TDS department tackles issues like discrepancies in Form 26AS, challan corrections, defaults, Form 16/16A/27D-related questions, KYC matters, and registration queries.

9. Directorate of Income Tax (Systems) [DIT(Systems)]:  Tackles technical issues related to the tax system, such as Assessment-related technical problems, National website issues, PAN-related technical glitches, Refund banker (SBI) issues, OLTAS (Online Tax Application System) technical difficulties, Non-filing of return notices and other system errors National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL):  NSDL handles all PAN-related concerns, including Aadhaar linking, duplicate PAN allocations, digitization errors, discrepancy letters, online application issues, delivery problems, rejections, and upload delays. Unique Identification Authority of India Infrastructure Technology Services Limited (UTIITSL):  This department, along with NSDL, handles PAN-related concerns like Aadhaar linking, duplicate allocations, digitization errors, discrepancy letters, online application issues, delivery problems, and rejections. E-Filing:  Encountering problems while filing your return electronically? The e-Filing department tackles communication gaps, compliance portal queries, late filing requests, cybercrime concerns, DSC-related issues, FO Portal grievances, form submission problems, general inquiries, instant PAN issues, JSON utility glitches, outstanding demands, password resets, profile updates, rectification requests, refund inquiries, representative registrations, general registrations, TAN-related questions, e-proceedings, and verification problems. Grievance Redressal Mechanism under ITD-Contd..

10. Directorate of Income Tax (Systems) [DIT(Systems)]:  Tackles technical issues related to the tax system, such as Assessment-related technical problems, National website issues, PAN-related technical glitches, Refund banker (SBI) issues, OLTAS (Online Tax Application System) technical difficulties, Non-filing of return notices and other system errors. Unique Identification Authority of India Infrastructure Technology Services Limited (UTIITSL):  This department, along with NSDL, handles PAN-related concerns like Aadhaar linking, duplicate allocations, digitization errors, discrepancy letters, online application issues, delivery problems, and rejections. Grievance Redressal Mechanism under ITD-Contd..

11. E- Nivaran Grievance Introduced  for handling queries of taxpayers related to Income Tax Return Filing via e-Filing Portal. All the grievances are taken note of and assigned to executives and then categorised and sub-categorised accordingly at CPC for the proper and timely resolution. Once it is approved by ITD officer, e-mail is received by the taxpayer and same along with resolution gets updated on the e-filing portal under the head ‘MY Account’. Rejected cases are sent back for re- analyzing . Grievance Redressal Mechanism under ITD-Contd..

12. Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) It provides multiple channels through which taxpayers can get in touch with the department. Any citizen of India can raise their grievance or pleas to the Central Government and State Government- Departments and Ministries. There is a dedicated team under CPC for closely monitoring all CPGRAMS grievances and ensuring timely and accurate disposal of such grievances. Before disposing of any grievance all the resolutions provided by CPGRAMS are reviewed by Designated ITD Officer in the Public Grievance Portal. Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System (CPGRAMS)

13. Ask Centre – CIT (Helpline) and ITO (TPS) in each Pr. CCIT charge Where ASK ( Aaykar Seva Kendra) is functional Where ASK is functional, well-designed software ( i ) registers the grievances of taxpayers; (ii) allots unique numbers and (iii) transfers the grievances to respective sections for resolution and (iv) keeps track of such grievances. With the software, there is no need to keep manual registers for keeping the record of grievances. CBDT is committed to meet all standards as below: Identify complaints prone areas and determine time norms for their redressal Provide information about the complaint handling process clearly and accessible to all. Publicize information about the complaint handling process. Identify complaints uniquely and record necessary information Scrutinizing complaints individually. Grievance Redressal Mechanism under ITD-Contd..

14. Grievance Redressal Mechanism under ITD Acknowledge each complaint promptly and give a unique complaint number along with expected redressal time and details of employee for further correspondence. Investigating complaints thoroughly and effectively resolving it. Conveying the resolution to the complainant. In case resolution is not satisfactory; justification for decision taken along with alternative recourse shall be communicated to the complainant. Ombudsmen have been appointed by the Government of India for looking into the grievances of taxpayers if normal delivery mechanism does not respond.

15. High Pitched Assessment Committees in each Pr.CCIT charge Ask Centre – CIT (Helpline) and ITO (TPS) in each Pr.CCIT charge Jurisdictional AO Online Reputation Management (ORM) Introduced for redressing the grievances posted on the social media by the taxpayers and all the cases are directly monitored by CBDT Income Tax Department. ORM Team is built for assigning cases to the executives for the proper resolution. E-Mail to CPC Specific queries from taxpayers or their representatives are handled by using e-mail Id for resolving the grievances. Grievance Redressal Mechanism under ITD-Contd..

16. Steps taken to strengthen Redressal mechanism Complete transformation from manual to electronic mode E-filing system – convenience for taxpayers, reducing errors and easy compliance CPC .2 – for faster processing of returns and issuance of quick refunds Integration of e-filing and CPC Faceless assessment and appeals Linking of PAN and adhaar Digitalization and automation has improved the tax administration for both taxpayers and Department Big data analytics, Artificial intelligence and learning for risk assessment and to identify the defaulters

17. Analysis of Grievances Taxpayers may face challenges in navigating the system. This is often due to lack of clarity on procedures and processes There may be at times, delays and errors in processing of returns, delay in issuance of refunds thereby arising disputes with Income tax department.

18. Challenges of online grievance redressal mechanism The automated responses to taxpayers objections and explanations over digital platform may not be as per expectation of taxpayers Taxpayers generally expect a human interface to share their pain and hardship. A taxpayer expects an assurance of a time bound outcome of redressal . The responses by the call centres may be mechanical There may be need for better operational coordination and cooperation between field officers and CPC/ITBA Building capacity of officers for effective and efficient handling of grievances may be required.

19. Resolving the issues Computer/system related issues: ITBA/CPC resolves most of the issues efficiently. However system based approach is not able to effectively respond outliers cases In such cases human interference is still needed Incorrect data entered by taxpayer Taxpayer may make error in filing data This may result in unexpected and unwanted outcomes Technical problem faced by field officer System related issues may result in delayed/ineffective resolution of the grievance Such delays may cause adverse effect on the prioritization of grievance redressal system. The grievance can be tackled with better cooperation and coordination between CPC/ITBA

20. Understanding categories of Grievances CPC related grievances Grievances related to delay in giving effects to appellate orders Issues related to tax refunds and demands Grievances related to TDS credits ITR related grievances Software/Website related issues Issues in assessment/CIT(A) proceedings Grievances relating to portals ( e- nivaran , CPGRAM, Ask centre)

21. Instructions for Officers/officials dealing with grievances/taxpayers Officers and officials are working as facilitators and not enforcers Understand the grievance of taxpayer Have empathy Coordinate with different limbs of the department. Knowledge of relevant procedure Seek help from seniors/colleagues Be committed towards resolving the grievances Take things on logical conclusion They should ensure that the taxpayer understands what is being told Adhere to time limit

22. THANK YOU