The taxman’s job is not an easy one, considering that he has to deal with the rich and powerful with immense ability to hurt, even mortally. Most economic crimes can be nipped in the bud if citizens are alert and raise the alarm. People’s participation in identifying the culprits and helping to bring them to book is quite essential
Unlike the regular tax desk which is manned by a tax officer whose job is to levy tax on you, this desk is manned by a non-serving tax officer who wishes to share his experience of 35 years in the tax department, while, discussing tax provisions. It is advantageous to know how the tax department thinks and acts when, as said by Benjamin Franklin, “In this world nothing is certain except death and taxes”
Recently, an Ajay Devgan-starrer, ‘Raid’ was released, which was immensely liked by the public. This film was based on a true incidence of an Income Tax raid which took place in the 1980s in Kanpur. Ajay Devgan portrayed the role of Ajay Patnaik, a young IRS officer who was a Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax. The search action was against a politically powerful MLA. The film truthfully showed the hardship faced by the honest young officer while doing his job to unearth black money, which included a mortal attack on him and his wife. The undeterred hero finished his work without fear and unearthed the biggest seizure of cash and valuables of that time. The search proceedings were initiated and later were helped by an anonymous caller, who, in fact, was the daughter-inlaw of the targeted politician. People had the opportunity through this film to see a real-life hero who was not in uniform and belonged to the hated tax department. The Income Tax department is perceived as a negative-work department, comprising of corrupt officers and officials. The film, to some extent, must have cleared the perception of the people about taxmen, as ‘black sheep’ exist everywhere as well as real good people. “There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between there are the doors of perception,” said Aldous Huxley.
The inquiry or even search by the Income Tax department is very tough, as unlike in the case of the police, officers have to deal with the rich and powerful people of the society. The police deals with criminals and antisocials who are easily identifiable and in most cases are from the lower strata of society. The culprits amongst the social and economically elite are not easily identifiable and they have the façade of respectable people. Further, they have the assistance and support of the best legal brains. There is always a danger for tax officers that the targeted people under the inquiry and search will put counter-complaints against them. The officers have to walk on the razor’s edge between the honest call of duty and personal problems they may face. The targeted people having access to high offices in the country do everything to kill the inquiry. The easiest thing for them is to bribe the officers, but things become difficult if the officer involved is honest. In the latter scenario, they approach the higher- ups to derail the inquiry by putting wrong complaints against the officer. They also threaten the officer with physical harm. The tax officers have no power of arrest at the stage of inquiry or raid, unlike in the case of the police and some other enforcement agencies. This makes their position more vulnerable.
To illustrate my point of personal anxiety given to an honest officer, I cite the live example of the case of one of my colleagues. The inquiry conducted by this officer had squarely caught one leading industrialist. The industrialist tried all kinds of tricks to save himself, but could not succeed against this officer. Ultimately, one day he found out the bank account of the officer from his peon and deposited a huge sum of money in that account and complained to the CBI and other vigilance departments against the officer, with the evidence of the cash deposit. The officer was put to a lot of hardship as unaccounted cash was in his personal bank account, but finally his reputation saved him after the true facts were detected by the CBI. I personally faced the threat of murder and kidnapping of my wife by a leading business group. These are occupational hazards of an honest tax officer which people generally do not know. They only come to know about some dishonest officers who are caught or who harass taxpayers for personal gain.
"The small bunch of government and bureaucracy should be seen only as facilitators. They will make rules and laws and will try to administer them, but the success of such rules and laws will depend upon all the people of the country"
Financial year 2017-18 has just ended and the preliminary report from the government is that direct tax collection has reached a record high of Rs.9.85 lakh crore during this fiscal year which is more than 50% of the total revenue receipts. Both the taxmen and the taxpayers deserve credit for achieving this landmark. There is another satisfying happening this year. The number of new taxpayers of direct tax has gone up to more than a crore, a sizeable jump over the preceding year. The number of Returns of Income Tax filed in the year has gone beyond six crore. Such creditable performance which will ultimately help our economy would not have been possible without the hard work put by the taxmen. People should keep these facts in mind while forming their perception about the Income Tax department and its officers.
There is no denying the fact that much is desired to be done by the department. Till there is black money in the economy, the tax department cannot afford to say that it has succeeded. Our tax- GDP ratio is still low compared to major rising economies. This cannot be possible unless citizens play an active role. Our citizens have a dual role to play. First, they have to be tax-compliant citizens. They should voluntarily come forward to pay their due taxes in due time. Secondly, they should play the role of whistle-blowers when they see the crime of evasion of taxes in their neighbourhood or when it comes to their knowledge. Citizens have to be active stakeholders in the difficult job of tax collection for the country.
It should be the responsibility of the tax department that names of whistle- blowers always remain a secret and their safety is ensured. In this context, people should know that the tax department will never have the huge manpower required to monitor 130 crore citizens. The department has about 5,000 IRS officers, and together with all officials, the strength of the department is 7 lakh employees. However, these days the department is relying upon technology to collect information about tax evaders but even then the role of personal information provided by whistle-blowers is more important. Technology can trail the footprints of money in the economy, but the quantum of black money in our pockets will remain unknown unless personal knowledge-based information is provided.
Income Tax or GST or any other tax is only a small limb of our national economy. The country as a whole and its success depends on its total wealth, social fibre and harmony and such other related issues. The country for all its issues and problems is dependent upon its people, as a country means and includes its people located on its geographical area. The government is just an agent of the people. It is made up of the team of people elected by the people and the same is assisted by the bureaucracy, appointed by the elected government. People have to become stakeholders in all spheres of activity. The small bunch of government and bureaucracy should be seen only as facilitators. They will make rules and laws and will try to administer them, but the success of such rules and laws will depend upon all the people of the country. To give an example, we have strict laws on rape, but still rapes happen, as the mindset of our people has not changed to respect women. The government will catch and punish the rapists, but this evil in our society will not go till the people take the right resolve. We have to name and shame the criminals and make them outlaws.
Take the case of Nirav Modi, the scamster who has run away from the country after the biggest bank fraud. Was he alone in the scam? No, there were active and passive participators in the crime. The active ones were the connected bank employees and his accomplice staff. The passive participators were our negligent auditors and the people around him who had some knowledge of the fraud but chose not to inform the concerned departments. These people decided to be passive onlookers. The fraud could have been nipped in the bud and he would have been arrested had the people around him and around the culprit bank officers played the role of vigilant citizens.
The country belongs to all of us, not only to elected representatives and some government officers. We are the public, and they are the public servants. We have corrupt public servants because to break the laws in our favour, we offer them bribes. They are guilty, but we are also partners in the corrupt practices. The government has brought in a big reform in our indirect-tax system by bringing in the GST but most of us are trying our best to find loopholes to evade the tax. GST is missing the expected targeted collection, not because the new system is bad but because we have found methods to derail it.
We talk too much about our rights but what about our duties? Our duty is not limited to casting our votes and electing the government but also helping a smooth governance. Our duties are as important as our rights, if not more. Let us remember the words of Thomas Jefferson, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” We must pay the price if we wish to enjoy the blessing of our freedom by doing our duty. We have to help our public servants to provide good public service instead of only criticising them. Strikes and dharnas may fall among our rights but can burning public properties and attacking the police force be also considered our rights? Let us ponder over a simple question, do we actually love our country? An introspection will lead to some solutions.
by S K Jha
