New Delhi, June 8 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today urged the officers of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to make sustained and strategic efforts throughout the year for the realisation of the challenging revenue target of Rs. 3,92, 908 crore for indirect taxes for 2011-12.
Mukherjee was addressing the Annual Conference of Chief Commissioners and Directors General of the Central Board of Excise and Customs here. The theme of this year's conference is "Challenges before CBEC in the back drop of emerging to a surging Indian Economy".
Congratulating the CBEC and its officers for not only exceeding last year's budgeted estimates, but also in exceeding the revised estimates by substantive margins, Mukherjee said that the world economy is poised to get transformed into a multi-polarity global economy.
For meeting the growth momentum, Mukherjee said that structural changes would need to be undertaken that would generate self-sustaining and inclusive growth.
For Goods and Service Tax (GST), Mukherjee advised the officers that there must not be any let up in their preparatory work for GST.
He said that for projects related to Goods and Service tax, a National Information Utility for CBEC has been approved by the Government on the recommendation of TAGUP, a Committee headed by Nandan Nilekani.
Mukherjee said that in a globalised economy, the expectations of taxpayers from Department are rising exponentially which has led to increase in taxpayers' grievances across the country.
To address this issue, the Government has decided to set up seven Indirect Tax Ombudsman, he added.
Expressing concern over avoidable litigation with taxpayers, which have been continuously growing over the years, Mukherjee said: "This is not a healthy trend and requires introspection especially about routine filing of appeals."
"A committee was appointed, which recommended monetary limits for filing of appeals before the various appellate forums. These recommendations have been accepted and it is likely to reduce future litigation with taxpayers by around 20-25 per cent," he added.
He further asked the CBEC officers to make an honest endeavour to address the problems faced by their stakeholders in the quickest possible time.
Emphasising that they should strive to have all their formations Sevottam by 2014, Mukherjee said that the CBEC has undertaken a series of initiatives in the last two years towards e-Governance.
Mukherjee urged the officers that their focus on revenue collections should never be lost and they must aim at continuous evolvement and improvisation of their practices and procedures. (ANI)
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