Can’t Fix Public Complaints in 21-Day Deadline, Make It 60: I-T Dept Tells Govt | Exclusive
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News18 has accessed the presentation made by an additional director general of income tax. Among all government departments, the I-T wing has the highest pendency of nearly 9,700 complaints, out of which over 7,300 are pending for more than the stipulated deadline in the government…Read More
The income tax (I-T) department receives a high number of public complaints—nearly 55,000 already this year. About 70% of these complaints are regarding issues with I-T returns.
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The Central Board of Direct Taxes has told the nodal department of public grievances that it cannot dispose of complaints from the public within the stipulated period of 21 days fixed by the government. The department has now asked for a 60-day time limit.
The income tax (I-T) department receives a high number of public complaints—nearly 55,000 already this year. About 70% of these complaints are regarding issues with I-T returns, like asking for a refund or a wrong demand being raised from a citizen.
Among all government departments, the I-T wing has the highest pendency of nearly 9,700 complaints, out of which over 7,300 are pending for more than the stipulated deadline in the government of 21 days. This year, the average disposal time of a complaint by the I-T department is as high as 65 days.
“Majority of CPGRAMS (public complaints) are related to direct taxes—processing of refunds/refund matters which require coordination and movement between verticals. The whole process involves various verticals and stakeholders contributing to the longer time taken for redressal of such cases,” the I-T department said in a presentation at a national workshop on November 18.
Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) is an online platform allowing citizens to register grievances with government authorities on service-related matters. It serves as a unified portal connecting all ministries and departments of the central and state governments, with role-based access.
I-T department presentation
News18 has accessed the presentation made by an additional director general of income tax. “In view of the above, the time limit of 21 days for redressal of CPGRAMS is short for CPGRAMS pertaining to CBDT. The timeline of 21 days for redressal of CPGRAMS may be extended to 60 days. In this regard, a letter has already been written to DARPG (Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances),” the I-T department has said.
The government, on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this August reduced the maximum time needed for addressing a grievance from a citizen to 21 days, from 30 days earlier. This deadline was 60 days during the United Progressive Alliance government.
This year, so far, the Centre has been able to dispose of a grievance in an average of just 13 days, if all departments and ministries are considered together.
Department’s case
The I-T department, in the presentation accessed by News18, said its working is quasi-judicial and a reasonable opportunity of being heard is required to be provided to the petitioner before redressal of the CPGRAMS grievances. It also said that, as per the taxpayers’ charter of the income tax department, the timeline provided for refund or rectification in respect of I-T returns is three months.
“In view of above, it may not be possible to dispose the grievance within 21 days. The CPGRAMS which involves action by more than 1 vertical has to travel through the entire structural hierarchy of those verticals—which is time consuming,” the I-T department has said.
The department has said it is among the top five performers in the quality of CPGRAMS redressal consistently. “In spite of the large number of CPGRAMS filed with the department, the quality of grievance redressal and satisfaction of the complainant in regard of their grievance resolution is high,” the I-T department said.
It also listed steps it is taking to reduce the pendency time of complaints.
“High emphasis is being given to disposal of CPGRAMS within 21 days of filing. Monitoring of redressal of CPGRAMS is done at all levels from CBDT to field formations. E-mails are sent to Pr.CCIT/DGIT’s on weekly basis along with the list of cases for priority disposal. Letters are written to various Pr.CITs on regular basis where high pendency of cases are lying with their sub-ordinates offices, requesting them to redress them urgently. Letters are also written for transferring the CPGRAMS to correct Last Mile Officer,” the I-T department listed in the presentation.
The majority of CPGRAMS involve coordination/movement of CPGRAMS between field formation and DG (Systems). The CPGRAMS has to travel through the structural hierarchy to reach the last-mile officer, the I-T department has said.
As per the department, during the financial year 2023-24, a total of 8.6 crore income tax returns have been filed and Rs 3.79 lakh crore of refunds have been issued. The department received 69,638 public grievances in the last financial year and said it disposed of 71,083 complaints at a 102% performance (including carried-forward complaints from 2022-23).
