Intro: Cadre restructuring process has started but posts yet to be filled at cutting edge levels
The inability of the Cadre Restructuring (CR) of Income Tax (I-T) department to fill up posts at the assistant commissioner (ACIT) and deputy commissioner ((DCIT) levels could see the government not just missing its tax collection target for the current fiscal, but possibly even widening it.
A senior official of the Income Tax Gazetted officers Association (ITGOA) said despite the CR being notified in 2013, there were posts that still existed only on paper and were not filled in specified time due to procedural delays.
"Even though process of cadre restructuring has started, many posts are still being kept vacant at the cutting edge levels (ACIT and DCIT) at the cost of tax collection being adversely affected and tax payer service becoming tardy," said Rajesh Menon, president, ITGOA (Mumbai).
The officers at the ACIT and DCIT levels are responsible for tax assessment on incomes over Rs 30 lakh, which constitutes over 70-80% of the government's tax revenue.
Under the CR, close to 1,350 vacancies are expected to be filled up over five years, at the rate of 270 each year, beginning 2013. This will be done 50% (135 vacancies) through promotion of department officers and 50% (135 vacancies) through direct recruitment. According to Menon, besides the 270 vacancies, another 200 posts will fall vacant on account of promotions and retirements of staff at this level in the I-T department.
"If you see, total vacancy to be fi lled is around 500 every year but it wouldn't go beyond 400-420 because the maximum possible direct recruitment can't go beyond 180-200. This is leaving many posts unfilled," said Menon. Currently, there are 2,300 ACIT and DCIT across the country but with increasing pressure by the government to increase tax collection from untapped sources, there is a need to further strengthen the staff number at this level.
Menon said the new recruitment rules could see about 600-700 posts becoming vacant with no provision of them being filled over the next 5-6 years. For the last fiscal, the corporation tax target fell short by Rs 14,000 crore. To improve efficiency, the CR has proposed to add one ACIT in every corporate range in addition to the one ACIT that exists today. However, this has still not happened.
"These (one more ACIT in every corporate range) posts are there on paper but are not happening in reality," said ITGOA chief.
This target miss for corporation tax to double this fiscal with the government's higher tax revenue target of Rs 7.4 lakh crore compared with Rs 6.4 lakh crore last fiscal.
The government's tax collection for the first six months of the current fiscal was Rs 2.7 lakh crore, which is only around 36% of its target. The government's tax collection is usually 10% in the first quarter, 35% in the next two quarters and 20% in the last quarter.
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