Petitioner says officials harassing tax-payers to achieve targets.
The instructions of the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) that promotions of income tax officials will depend on meeting the target set for tax collection were challenged before Gujarat High Court on Thursday.
A bench of Gujarat High Court comprising acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice JB Pardiwala issued notices to the Union government, the chairman of the CBDT and chief commissioner of Income Tax of Gujarat.
Prakash Kapadia of Jagega Gujarat Sangharsh Samiti filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) through his counsel Rashmin Jani. According to the petition, incumbent chairman of the CBDT, on February 7, issued instructions to various state units on target-linked promotions.
The instructions read: "Among the parameters of performance in your area, achievement of revenue collection target will obviously be given the highest weightage while writing your APAR by reporting officer and reviewing officers. And will be a major factor while considering the placement during AGT 2012."
The petition claimed, "In this context, all the chief commissioners are directed to prepare tabular data of revenue collection of their regions. Instructions of the CBDT chairman to the senior officials that their career prospectus would depend on their success in meeting targets for tax collections, emphasising the government's desperation to raise revenues to plug the fiscal deficit, raise fears among the wealthy of harassment."
It further said, "The tax collections should not be made a parameter as it based on income of the individual. The instruction to achieve the target will make undue harassment of the tax payers. The I-T dept's website also mentioned that, 'Collect target, get promotion and choice posting'."
The petition further said, "All assessees are tax payers and they see that the nation flourishes…But such instructions for the officials should not be allowed at the cost of the assessees. Therefore, the said instructions are required to be struck down."
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