Direct tax collections register 8.33% growth during 2008-09

As per available figures, net direct tax collection during the fiscal 2008-09 stands at Rs.338,212 crore, up from Rs.312,202 crore during 2007-08, registering a growth of 8.33 percent. Growth in Corporate Taxes was 10.84 percent (Rs.213,823 crore as against Rs.192,911 crore), while Personal Income Tax (including FBT, STT and BCTT) grew at 4.26 percent (Rs.123,967 crore as against Rs.118,904 crore). Growth in Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) was 12.38 percent (Rs.7,997 crore as against Rs.7,116 crore). Securities Transaction Tax (STT), however, declined by 36.95 percent (Rs.5,408 crore as against Rs.8,577 crore).

Despite economic slow-down and substantial relief to non-corporate taxpayers, direct tax collections exceeded the previous year’s collection by about Rs.26,000 crore; Corporate tax deducted at source (TDS) registered a growth of 35.4 percent (Rs.61,683 crore against Rs.45,450 crore last year); PIT TDS registered a growth of 16.3 percent (Rs.68,786 crore against Rs.59,145 crore last year); and Central Government TDS registered a growth of 65.39 percent (Rs.3,364 crore against Rs.2,034 crore last year). Taxes collected include an all time high additional tax amounting to Rs.31,242 crore collected out of tax demand raised by the Income Tax department. This amount consists of tax arrears of Rs.10,016 crore and current tax of Rs.21,226 crore.

Collection of direct taxes has more than tripled from Rs.1,05,088 crore in 2003-04 to Rs.3,38,212 crore in 2008-09 at an average annual growth of 26.75 percent against an average annual growth rate of 18.86 percent between 1990-91 to 2001-02. Direct tax as percentage of GDP stands at 6.23 percent, a marginal decline from 6.61 percent achieved during 2007-08. However, direct tax to GDP ratio has increased from 3.81 percent in 2003-04 to 6.23 percent in 2008-09 as compared to increase from 2.10 percent in 1990-91 to 3.03 percent in 2001-02, contributing over 55 percent of central tax revenues. The cost of collection, which increased to 0.66 percent during 2008-09 from 0.54 percent during 2007-08, still remains one of the lowest in the world.

Source : PIB Press Release.

e_Filing software for ITR 1/2/3/4 available now. eFiling will commence shortly.

Softwares for efiling for the AY 2009-10 is available now. ITR 1/2/3/4 is ready now. For Firms and Comapanies, the softwares are being ready and will be made available shortly.

The electronic submission of returns has not commenced yet and likely to be enabled very shortly.

There are few changes regarding Registrations and uploading. We are providing necessary informations regarding changes below.

1. New Users can register their Digital Certificate during registration process

2. During Registration and Forgot Password, Captcha Image needs to be entered by the user for verification. If the image is not clear for the user, they can refresh and get a new image

3. After successful registration of user, User Activation URL sent through Email and user account gets activated only after the user clicks on the activation URL and login

4. User needs to activate his/her account within 10 days of time period. After that the user account gets expired and the user needs to re-register with the EFiling application

5. Secret Question and Answer has been added as part of Registration for more security

6. Existing users, can update their Secret Question and Answer after the Login.

7. Upload with the digital certificate has been mandated to register/update the digital certificate before upload. If the user wants to upload with the digital certificate, the user needs to go to My Account Menu -> Update Digital Certificate page

8. My Account Menu have an addition of the followings:

1. Update Digital Certificate

2. Update Secret Question and Answer

9. Password – Strength & confirmation indicator provided for the registration, change password, forgot password functionalities

10. During XML file upload any error with the xml file will be displayed to the user at one shot. More than 5 errors will be given as a ‘.CSV’ file to the user for download

11. After successful upload, the user can download the ITR V / ITR Acknowledgement pdf in the success page itself. ITR V/ ITR Acknowledgement pdf zip needs to be saved in the users’ computer to open the file.

12. Users can download the utilities / schema for all the years

13. E-Filing News scroll over stops the text so that the user can read the full content

13. Know Your Jurisdiction has been moved to Services Menu.

Softwares are available here.

Income tax cadre Review Report 2009

The Cadre review and Restructuring Report for the Income Tax Department has finally come out. We could manage to collect the report by our own source.
Highlights of the reports are:

o Introduction of the Apex Scale and HAG+ Grade in the with 42 post being created in two Apex Scale of Rs. 80,000 (fixed) and 74 posts being created in the HAG + Scale of Rs. 75,500 – 80,000 along with simultaneous abolition of 116 posts in HAG grade (PB-4 plus Grade Pay of Rs. 12,000).

o Status of Administrative Commissioners of Income Tax to be elevated to HAG (PB-4 plus Grade Pay of Rs. 12,000) Higher status for the posts of DIT(Inv.); CIT(Central); DIT(Training); DIT(Vigilance); DIT(Int’l Taxation) [to be redesignated CIT(Int’l Taxation)] as well. 346 posts to be placed in this higher grade.

o No change in the status of other posts.

o Additional posts to be created on functional considerations in other grades as under:-

Sr. No.	Designation	Pay Scale	Additional posts proposed
1	CIT/equivalent	PB-4 + Rs. 10,000	167
2	Addl. CIT/ JCIT/ equivalent	PB-4 + Rs. 8700 PB-3 + Rs. 7600	283
3	Dy. CIT/ Asstt. CIT/ equivalent	PB-3 + Rs. 6600 PB-3 + Rs. 5400	588
4	Reserve	PB-3 + Rs. 5400	760
5	ITO	PB-2 + Rs. 4800 PB-3 + Rs. 5400	1826

Posts in lower grades to be created accordingly by following the prescribed norms of 1 Inspector, 1 TA/STA and ½ DEO/Stenographer for every ITO and 2 Inspectors, 2 TAs/STAs and 1 DEO/Stenographer for every ACIT/DCIT in a Range.

o Ranges to have six assessing officers including 2 ACITs/ DCITs in Central Range and 1 ACIT / DCIT in other Ranges.

o All DGsIT in HAG+ of Rs. 75,500 – 80,000 to be redesignated CCITs

o An additional post of CIT to be created for Budget and expenditure related work.

It is learnt that the Dept. will ask opinion of the service associations before implementing it.

View the full report here.

This report though made known to the service association [ITEF] but they did not make it public and did not place in their website.

This type of tendency of keeping things away from the general members is really surprising. Are they going to deprive the common members again like the 1% incentive scheme, out of which Group C and D employees got nothing and there is no meaningful protest from the Union ?

Please post your comment.

"........Our last circular letter i.e. ITEF/08/2009 has not been placed on the website. It has been e mailed to all of you on our common e mail domain of itefcentral_hq@sify.com whose pass word has already been communicated to all of you. Kindly go through the same and send your considered views to the CHQ on the cadre review proposal immediately to formulate our draft submission for the consideration of the CWC meeting at Daman on 18^th and 19^th June, 2009.

With greetings,

Yours fraternally,

Ashok Salunkhe.

Secretary General"

TDS/TCS Deductors : New provision has been deferred.

The CBDT has deferred it's Notification No. 31/2009 dated 25.03.2009 regarding TDS/TCS payments and filing of eTDS returns. The new provisions will take effect from 1st July 2009. Meanwhile, the dedutors will follow the current provisions of payment and filing.

See the Press Release.