Procedure to ensure better coordination among officers assessing various direct taxes. - Income Tax - 1575/CBDT

INSTRUCTION NO. 1575/CBDT Dated: September 4, 1984 The Public Accounts Committee had observed in their 26th Report that there was a serious weakness in the set-up of the Direct Taxes Administration, in so far as there existed a chronic lack of co-ordination among the assessing officers of the Department among the assessment records pertaining to the different Direct Taxes, among the various taxes collecting Deptts. of the Central and State Governments and among the administrative Ministries and the C.B.D.T. The Committee had desired to know what steps were being contemplated to evolve a fool-proof method of ensuring better co-ordination between the officers assessing the various Direct Taxes. 2. Consequent to the above observation of the Public Accounts Committee, the C.B.D.T. constituted a committee to examine the matter in depth and suggest ways and means to take appropriate follow-up action to ensure better co-ordination between the assessing officers and co-ordinating information available in respect of assessees under the various Direct Taxes. 3. This committee which submitted its report in Feb.84 broadly classified the types of mistakes which occur due to lack of co-ordination resulting in the avoidable loss to the revenue and the steps to be taken to remedy these shortcomings. The types of mistake/omissions are as under:- (a) Mistakes that are committed in the proceedings because of failure to take note of the information available in the file. (b)Mistakes that arise because of lack of correlation of information available in the files under different Direct Taxes at the time of completion of proceedings under these Acts. (c)Lack of co-ordination between the taxing officers and other officers of the Department such as Recovery officers, Acquisition Ranges, Audit Officers, C.I.B's, Valuation Cells etc. (d) Absence of co-ordination in the utilisation of information received from various outside agencies/persons. 4. While the Departmental committee has made detailed recommendation on the role of various assessing officers in ensuring that there is a proper co-ordination while completing assessment in para 4.33 of the report, the committee has discussed the role of co-ordination between the IAC's (Audit) and the assessing officers. This is because the Audit Officer perform the important function of checking assessment made and timely detection of lapses could go a long way in retrieving lost revenue. The committee's suggestions in the regard are as under:- (i) The Audit teams should keep in view the co-ordination aspect while discharging their functions relating to audit work. (ii) All mistakes or omissions relating to the coordination aspects should be brought to the notice of the assessing office promptly. (iii) If the Audit teams come across any mistake or omission in the field of coordination which are important or of a recurring nature, these should be brought to the notice of the concerned Commissioner of Income-tax. 5.In so far as the role of Commissioner of Income-tax is concerned the committee observed that based on the findings of the Audit teams, prompt steps should be taken to issue general circulars to all the officers in the charge pointing out the lapses in important aspects relating to coordination for avoiding their recurrences. Where the CIT feels that mistakes pointed out have all India ramifications he may bring it to the notice of the D.I(audit) who should take necessary steps to circulate it to the other commissioners. 6. The above procedure, it is hoped would minimise the occurence of mistakes on account of lack of coordination. The Board has therefore accepted the recommendation. You are, therefore requested to bring these recommendations to the notice of all officers working in your charge, specially the Audit Teams, so that better coordination is ensured.