CBDT chargesheets 3 senior IRS officers over report on tax hike

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued chargesheets to three senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers in view of their role and complicity in the preparation of the “tax hike” report named ‘FORCE’.

The report advocated tax hike, imposition of wealth tax, inheritance tax, imposition of Covid-19 Surcharge.

They are divested of their current charges, sources said.

The report created panic and tax policy uncertainty in the already stressed economic conditions in the country, according to sources.

These officers include, 1988 batch officer Prashant Bhushan (allegation: putting the report in public domain without any authority), 2001 batch officer Prakash Dubey (allegation: got junior officers to prepare a report without any authority and unauthorisedly gave it to IRS association which made it public) and 1989 batch officer Sanjay Bahadur (allegation: without any authority he got junior officers to prepare a report and unauthorisedly gave it to IRS association which made it public).

The officers have been issued chargesheets, for creating policy uncertainty and panic by unauthorisedly publishing tax hike report and misguiding younger officers.

“The government would have definitely given due consideration to suggestions made by the young officers, sources said. However, in this case, the reports, instead of being sent to the government through official channel, these senior officers of rank of Principal Commissioner misguided them and went public with report which created panic and tax policy uncertainty in the already stressed economic conditions in the country,” sources added.