Time bound programme to liquidate the pending search cases. - Income Tax - 1498/CBDT

INSTRUCTION NO. 1498/CBDT Dated: January 13, 1983 Section(s) Referred: 143(3) Statute: Income - Tax Act, 1961 Attention is invited to Board's D.O. letter F.No. 292/22/81-IT(INV)-III dated 24th November, 1981, wherein you were requested to draw up time bound programme to liquidate the pending search cases. The Estimates Committee in their 29th Report (1981-82) have made the following observations: Para 7.33 The Committee had dealt with the question of searches and delays in their 9th Report (1980-81) on the Income-tax Department and had observed that "Such unconscionable delays in completing investigations, launching prosecutions and bringing the defaulters to Book defeats the very purpose of searches and seizures and lowers the Department's prestige in public eye" (Para 4.73).. (The Committee cannot do better than reiterate their recommendation made in that report that the Ministry should take serious view of the Income-tax Department's incapacity to complete investigations in search cases expeditiously and take concrete action to bring the prosecution Wing of the Department up to a reasonable level of efficiency. The Committee would like the Department to draw up a time bound programme to liquidate the pending cases and ensure that in future investigations in search cases are completed within a specified time failing which the matter should be examined by the Board for remedial action.' The Action plan for 1982-83 already includes the disposal of pending Income-tax assessments in search and seizure cases as one of the key result areas. The Board desires that the assessments pending in such cases under other Direct Taxes should also be disposed of alongwith the Income-tax assessments. The Committee has taken an adverse note of the small number of cases wherein prosecutions have actually been launched as compared to the substantial number of cases in which searches were conducted/unaccounted assets seized. The assessing officers should be suitably guided to ensure that fit cases are developed from the prosecution angle. The year 1981-82 has shown some improvement in this area. The Board hopes that with the increased accent on the quality of investigation in such cases and the number of special training courses organised both during 1981-82 and 1982-83 on investigation techniques the department would be able to considerably improve its performance in this area during 1982-83. These instructions may please be brought to the notice of all concerned.