MUMBAI, February 7: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is planning to extend the Permanent Account Number (PAN) facility to 33 cities in the next financial year.According to CBDT chairman Ravi Kant, the facility which is currently available to income-tax assessees in the four metropolitan cities, has been favourably received. "Our experiment has been successful in the four major metros and we feel the facility can be extended to the remaining cities," he added.
The procurement of PAN, a 10-digit alphanumeric number, has already been made mandatory for all the tax-payers. In Mumbai, the department has provided the PAN cards to around 90 per cent of the tax-payers.
The board is also planning to provide incentives to the PAN card holders including priority in airline reservations.
Speaking at a function organised by the All-India Importers & Exporters Association (AIIEA) to felicitate the income-tax officers and professionals who made the VDIS'97 a success, Ravi Kant said that tax complianceincreases only when the assessees have faith in his income tax officer.
"VDIS has taught important lessons to the department. We learnt that if we want people to voluntarily come forward and pay tax then it is necessary to simplify tax procedures, have a flat rate of taxation and provide simple forms," he added.
He felt that the scheme was instrumental in bridging the gap between the assessees and the income-tax officials and this opportunity is being utilised by the board to establish a tax payer friendly administration.
Referring to the importance of widening the tax base, he said that if people start contributing to the revenue kitty they also get more interested in the running the government.
Speaking on the occasion, tax expert, Y P Trivedi, said that the new approach of the income tax department in the post-VDIS era should continue. The president, AIIEA, Mohan H Nihalani, urged the department to kick-off the tax simplification drive by introducing simple income tax return forms.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
