GUWAHATI, April 26 � The State taxation department has geared up to improve the income tax-enabled systems to make the tax revenue collection more efficient and fool-proof aiming at improving the ease of business and improve its revenue collection, according to a press release here.
There has been constant demand from various trade bodies to improve the systems of the taxation department and there has been a need to improve transparency, timely availability of statutory forms, registration of new dealers, etc.
The release said that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in his Budget speech, had also declared in clear terms, �My government would create a state-of-the-art income tax-enabled taxation system with online tax compliance facilities so as to ensure minimum contact between the tax payers and the tax collecting officials. In this process, we will increase the ease of business. By doing so alone, we would be able to arrest the leakages and we can raise tax collection by 4-5 per cent of the total collections i.e., to the tune of about Rs 350 crore during the year 2015-16.�
In accordance with the Chief Minister�s announcement to reduce leakages and to bring in more tax compliance and effective enforcement, IT-enabled systems are being put in place, building on the experience of other advanced states like Karnataka.
Now, the requisite work is under way and by June 1, 2015, it is expected that in the spirit of minimum contact between the tax payers and tax collecting officers and to increase the ease of business, there would be complete online system for (a) Registration of dealers, (b) C-Forms, (c) F-Forms, (d) Courier Declaration Manifest for e-tailing transactions and (e) Tax Clearance Certificate, besides existing online facility for e-return, e-payment, online vehicle entry, statutory form utilisation, etc, the release said.
It is also planned to bring online the issue of delivery note, road permit along with a provision for e-refund and e-CAS (Comprehensive Audit System) and Verification of ITC Claims by the end of this financial year. Further, mobile-based services will also be started during the course of the year. Several other concomitant procedural changes would bring down the leakages so that the revenue collection would go up during the current year.
The release claimed that the provisional tax revenue collection of Rs 8,177.26 crore in 2014-15 showed an average growth of 6 per cent from the previous year despite an estimated less collection by an amount of Rs 350 to Rs 400 crore due to the reduction in prices of petrol and petroleum products, banning of coal mining by the National Green Tribunal and lower tea production during the current year.
In due course of time, once the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is implemented, all the checkgates would also be removed as the GST would be destination-based and a uniform taxation system in the country.
