KCCI opposes shifting I-T office from Mangaluru to Goa

The Mangaluru-based Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to retain the office of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (Administration) in Mangaluru.

In a letter to the CBDT Chairman on Friday, the copies of which were released to the media, Isaac Vas, President of KCCI, said that KCCI has been informed that the office of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Mangaluru, is abolished and merged with the office of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Panaji.

Stating that the office has been functioning in Mangaluru for more than two decades, he said a sudden change would cause hardship to taxpayers in general.

Mangaluru, which is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district, is a commercial, industrial, educational, healthcare and start-up hub.

He said the Mangaluru office of Income Tax Department serves a vast number of large taxpayers such as banks, public sector companies, New Mangalore Port, educational institutions, manufacturing companies, Special Economic Zone, IT companies, private sector companies, and high net-worth individuals. Grievance resolution would be very much faster and accessible for such taxpayers if we retain the office of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Mangaluru.

The office in Mangaluru covers a vast area from Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district up to Karwar in Uttara Kannada district along the Karnataka coast. “So, taxpayers in this huge area will be finding it difficult to take their matters of grievance to the proposed Panaji office in Goa,” he said.

Accessibility issue

The accessibility of transportation facility available for travelling to Panjim is either by train or by road. No direct flight facility is open from Mangaluru to Panjim.

The travel by train takes a long time, and there is no direct train from Mangaluru to Panjim. The assessees and authorised representatives have to get down at Madgaon in Goa and then travel 36 km either by bus or private taxi to reach the destination of Panjim.

He said this would create much hassle in accessibility for the taxpayers as well as authorised representatives which might cause a hurdle in the smooth flow of the federal system of taxation and it might be time-consuming too for personal representations.

Compared to Panjim, Mangaluru is well connected by road, air, train and water. Mangaluru is Karnataka’s only city to have all four modes of transport -- air, road, rail and sea. Due to the distance between Mangaluru and Panaji, the cost of service of representation will also be higher, he said.

The office of Principal Commissioner of Income-Tax in Mangaluru has been the second highest tax collection office after Bengaluru in Karnataka.

The abolition of the office in Mangaluru will cause the greatest disadvantage to the taxpayers of the region, and it will lead to massive inconveniences to all the taxpayers and tax professionals at large. The absence of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax office will be a huge setback for the development of the city of Mangaluru, which has set its path on the right track now aiming at the bright future for the residents of the district, he said.

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