The Hindu Business Line : Advance tax payment of top taxpayers to be `monitored'

THE Finance Ministry has decided to "monitor" advance tax payments by the top 100 taxpayers — personal and corporate — in each commissionerate to improve direct tax collections.

Since more than 45 per cent of the direct tax payments are received through advance tax, the revenue department does not want any slippages on this front.

Informed sources said chief commissioners and commissioners of income-tax have been asked to personally monitor advance tax payments made by top 100 taxpayers in every commissionerate.

They have also been asked to examine the quarterly financial statements of large and medium companies and correlate them with the advance tax payments paid by them.

Asked whether instructions had been given for monitoring the top 100 tax deduction at source returns filed in each commissionerate, the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, clarified that instruction had been given in respect of the top 100 taxpayers.

"We have only asked them (chief commissioners and commissioners) to monitor," Mr Chidambaram said after addressing the annual conference of Chief Commissioners and Director-Generals of Income tax, here on Wednesday.

Sources said the idea behind "monitoring" was not to "harass" the taxpayers.

For 2005-06, the budget target for corporate income tax and personal income tax has been pegged at Rs 1, 76,812 crore (corporate tax - Rs 1,10,573 crore and personal income tax Rs 66,239 crore).

The Finance Minister said the revenue department was looking into the possibility of fixing time limits for refund cases. "I do not deny that there were some bad cases. By and large, refunds are given on time," he said.

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