A large number of taxpayers have been brought into the net taking the total base to 8 crore, CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra said today, underlining that the government has consolidated direct tax reforms. Chandra also said that no I-T official can pick up a case on his discretion and only 0.5 per cent of all cases are picked up for scrutiny by the Income Tax Department.

“In direct taxes, lots of reforms have been done and we have consolidated direct tax reforms. Taxpayers net has gone up. We have added large number of taxpayers. Our taxpayers’ base is now 8 crore,” he said at an event organised by industry body Assocham.

Noting that the I-T department is cutting down interface between taxman and assesses, Chandra said, “Your cases can’t be picked up by the I-T official by his or her discretion. As the CBDT Chairman, even I can’t pick up any case using discretion.” He also said that the tax department started e-assessment of income tax forms in September 2017 and 60,000 cases have been completed through e-assessment so far.

Out of 15 lakh companies registered with MCA, only 7 lakh are filing tax return forms, Chandra said. Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) Vanaja N Sarna said that in Union Budget 2018-19, the government increased customs duty on 45 items and reduced custom duty on 5 items. “This was a good time to do it, because all these items can be manufactured wonderfully in India. Most of items related to MSME,” she said.

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