Nirmala Sitharaman advises I-T Department to avoid 'unnecessary harassment' of individual as well as corporate taxpayers

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday (August 21, 2024) said that the Income Tax Department (I-T Department) should avoid 'unnecessary harassment' of individuals as well as corporate taxpayers.

She advised tax officials to use enforcement as the last option to deal with taxpayers. 

Instructing the I-T Department, she said that attention should be paid to the language of tax notices and letters.

The finance minister advised that the I-T Department needs to simplify the language as due to it, clarifications have to be given to taxpayers time and again.

Sitharaman said that the I-T Department needs to make tax notice language so easy that a common taxpayer can understand it.

She further said that the I-T Department will have to work on three Fs

F-Faceless 
F-Fair 
F-Friendly

Sitharaman says 72% taxpayers choose new tax regime 

Sitharaman said that the last 10 years were challenging but income tax collection was really high.

Praising taxpayers, she said that there were a lot of doubts while making it faceless but taxpayers made this decision right.

She added: "This year 58.17 lakh new tax payers have come."

The new tax regime is transparent and simple. If it were not so, 72 per cent taxpayers would not have adopted the new tax regime.

Unlike the new tax regime, the old tax regime provides tax benefits up to Rs 1.50 lakh under Section 80C o the Income Tax Act, 1960.

Apart from that, the old tax regime also provides deductions such as house rent allowance.

Reacting to which, Sitharaman said that we cannot give the benefits of the new tax regime in the old tax regime

'Make tax process transparent and simple'

She emphasised on making tax transparent, simple, and approachable.

"With tax being easy, tax compliance will be easy," said Sitharaman.

She also said thank 'honest' taxpayers.

"Income tax has won the trust of the tax payers," said the finance minister.