Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked tax officials to come up with an action plan to eliminate the huge pendency of tax cases in adjudication and appeal, in which a large sum of public money is locked.

“A big sum of money that is locked up in these cases could have been used for the welfare of the poor,” Modi said, addressing revenue officials at Rajasva Gyan Sangam here on Friday.

Data analytics
The Prime Minister also asked officers to use data analytics tools to pro-actively track and determine undeclared income and wealth.

“Though efforts to increase tax revenue are made by officers each year, the estimated amount of tax that should accrue to the system is often not realised,” Modi said, addressing a two-day conference in which tax officials of states have been participating for the first time.

He asked officers to come up with a time-bound solution to ‘tax raised and not realised’. “The honest cannot continue to pay the price for the misdeeds of the dishonest,” Modi said.

In this regard, he also suggested complete reworking of human resource management in the tax departments to strengthen the data analytics and investigation wing. He asked the officers to fix clear targets to improve the country’s tax administration by 2022, the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.

Push for e-assessment
He asked for a push to be given to “e-assessment” and anonymity of proceedings using technology so that vested interests do not impede the due course of law. He said human interface must be kept to a minimum in the tax administration.

Modi also asked officials to design a system under which even smaller traders with turnover of less than Rs 20 lakh register themselves in the GST network to avail maximum benefit.

The Prime Minister exhorted the officers to improve their work-culture to incorporate both a “sense of urgency” and “measurability” in their performance.

Eliminate tax pendency cases, PM tells officials