Officials said Central Board of Direct Taxes, the policy- making body of the department, had to issue a directive to all tax offices and their Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) after CIC made its unhappiness known to it, stating the orders passed by the central transparency watchdog are not being "complied with" by the IT department in certain cases.
They said CIC recently wrote to CBDT Chairman Atulesh Jindal, citing some specific cases where the field offices of the department did not take required action after it ordered them to do so.
An order issued by CBDT, accessed by PTI, said: "Any deviation (in this regard) will be viewed adversely."
The officials said CIC in its letter has said it fears that such non-compliance of orders by the IT department's CPIOs and officials will only go on to "embolden" other departments and offices to take a cue and defy its orders and "damage the effectiveness and image of the Commission."