On back of host of measures taken by the government post demonetization to increase tax base, income taxpayer base moved up substantially to 6.26 crore at the end of the last fiscal, from nearly 4 crore earlier. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra said that with the enactment of the amended Benami law, the tax officials have found out clusters and persons who have invested money in real estate without filing tax returns.
Chandra said that the depertment is working on widening of the tax net which remains as a challenge before the taxmen, adding that they will start working on expanding the process of e-assessment and the next step would be to undertake complete scrutiny on systems so that assessees don’t have to visit tax office.
CBDT Chairman made clear that Non-resident Indians (NRIs), expats, as well as foreigners with investments in private equity in India will have to give details of their bank accounts only when a refund is due to the assessee. Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia also appreciated the growth of the Income Tax department, saying that of the last 25 years, in 11 years the Income Tax department has achieved a growth rate of 20 per cent and even a growth rate of 30 per cent in the year after demonetisation is considered modest.