Tackling Saral to be made easy

Govt to appoint unemployed graduates as tax return preparers.

Fees charged by chartered accountants for filing tax returns could soon crash with the finance ministry finalising a public-private partnership scheme to appoint, train and certify unemployed graduates for the job. The "tax return preparers" scheme is slated to begin from June 1 this year.

The scheme, introduced in the Budget this year through Section 139 B of the Income Tax Act, is similar to existing schemes in countries like Canada, Australia, the US and the UK. The new section stipulates enabling any specified class or classes of persons to prepare and furnish returns of income.

While the contours of the scheme are still being finalised, government officials said the performance of the graduates to be trained to file income tax returns would be monitored by the revenue department.

"There will be strict enforcement of quality. If the preparer makes mistakes while filing returns, he or she will be held accountable," an official said adding that the tax return preparers would be suitably rewarded by the government to begin with and subsequently by the taxpayers who use their services.

Officials said the department would soon appoint an agency to train such graduates. "The training will, in due course, be imparted through a web-based module since the preparers would need to be constantly updated for changes in the income tax laws," an official said.

Senior government officials said the revenue department was keen to introduce the scheme because it would help in widening the tax base by encouraging more small taxpayers to file their returns.