Jaitley bats for non-adversarial tax structure

 The Dollar Business Bureau Stating that the Current Account Deficit (CAD) position is doing better, the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that revenue collections which stood affected due to low manufacturing in the last 2-3 years are turning around and we hope to meet our fiscal targets. The Minister called for a non-adversarial tax administration which is both investors’ and assesses’ friendly, quick decision making & stability in policy matters, reforms in tax structure and administration, as key elements to make the better use of huge interest among domestic and foreign investors to invest in India. The Union Minister was addressing the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) officials, at the Investiture Ceremony to honour them, on International Customs Day, organised by CBEC. Jailtey asked the officials to ensure that all the liable tax payers pay their dues and tax evaders be taken to task. He also asked the officials to maintain certain level of civility with assesses and investors which must be cogent and logical. The Minister said that while India’s growth prospects are showing positive results, the other emerging economies like Brazil, South Africa, Europe, Japan and Russia, among others are facing challenging situation. Congratulating the award winners for their exemplary work, the Union Minister asked the custom officers to safeguard borders by curbing unlawful economic activities. Speaking on the occasion, Shaktikanta Dass, Revenue Secretary asked the CBEC officers to maximise the revenue collections and told the officers to ensure that 24x7 functioning of the ports and airports for customs clearances is implemented in letter and spirit. He asked the custom officials to check illegal flow of goods and commodities such as drugs, fake currency notes etc. across the international border. Dass also asked the officials to dedicate to the theme of facilitation to stakeholders and ensure smooth follow of goods and commodities within the country and in other countries. Later, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley gave away the awards to the officials of CBEC who were given Presidential awards for their exemplary performance on Republic Day last year. The function was also attended among others by Shri Kaushal Shrivastav, Chairman, CBEC, Members and senior officers of CBEC, award winners and their family members among others.  

This article was published on January 28, 2015.