Terming honest taxpayers as ‘nation builders’, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that the Central Government has taken various measures to simplify the tax structure in the country and ease the burden on the taxpayer.

She was delivering the 16th Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture while inaugurating the Nani Palkhivala Centenary Celebrations and launching the TATA Palkhivala Chair on Artificial Intelligence & Alternate Dispute Resolution at a virtual event organised by SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur.

Transparency in tax matters

Noting that transparency in handling tax disputes was the primary agenda of the Ministry of Finance, she said assessment and scrutiny processes were to undergo comprehensive reform. Observing that digitised assessment and ‘faceless’ appeals were on the cards, the FM said that trusting the taxpayer was important.

She also pointed that the number of scrutiny as a percentage of tax assessees, was 0.25 per cent and that between 2014 and 2020 the number of scrutiny cases has greatly reduced.

Terming the Covid challenge as unprecedented and unparalleled, Sitharaman said that governance paradigms were fast changing and that India would emerge as a global leader in the post-Covid world order. She also added that a direct cash transfer through the Jan Dhan Accounts was a transformative experience and that India had transited from the Cash-Card to the digital era of payments.

Five pillars

Highlighting the impact of Atmanirbhar Bharat, she listed the five pillars: economy, infrastructure, governance systems, vibrant demography and supply changes as cornerstones of a strong economy. She said that Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation were critical ingredients of the economic framework and that a five-year infrastructure scheme was a landmark in supporting economic activity.

N Chandrashekaran, Chairman – TATA Sons, recalled Nani Palkhivala’s association with the Tatas and said that SASTRA was leading the thought leadership themes in nation building. Giving a perspective of the situation relating to case related arrears pending before India’s courts, he said that increasing confidence in judicial machinery and cooperation between parties for dispute settlement was essential to create a transformational change in the litigation scene.

S Vaidhyasubramaniam, Vice-Chancellor, SASTRA Deemed University, said that a year-long celebration was being planned in the memory of the Late Nani Palkhivala whose contribution to law was legendary. He said that initiatives relating to moot courts, a Chair Professorship for taxation, research in the areas of common law, online courses in legal subjects and legal aid camps were being planned along with a valedictory function being planned in 2021.

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