Govt to setup single-window I-T offices in Naxal-hit areas

After mobile towers and special paramilitary recruitment rallies in Naxal-affected areas, the government has decided to set up 'Aaykar Sampark Kendras' (ASKs) in Maoist violence hit regions of the country.
The ASKs are 'single window' Income Tax department offices where taxpayers are provided a host of services like filing of I-T returns, obtaining refunds, getting PAN cards, obtaining tax certificates and documents and for conducting all types of communication with the taxman.
Such offices are setup to reduce the grievances of taxpayers as they are not required to go to multiple offices for redressal of their complaints or requirements but get them done at one place.

The Union Finance Ministry has recently approved a proposal submitted in this regard by the I-T department.
The department, according to its blueprint called the Results Framework Document, will set up a total of 57 such centres during the financial year 2013-14 with nine ASKs coming up in Naxal-affected regions of various Left Wing Extremism hit states.
While two ASKs each will come up in Dhamtari and Rajnandgaon districts of Chhattisgarh, the others will come up in Karimnagar in Andhra Pradesh, Keonjhar and Phulbani in Odisha, Purulia and Bankura in West Bengal and one each in Bhagalpur and Gaya in Bihar.

"This is the first time that these multi-utility centres are being opened up in small cities and districts including in Naxal-affected areas. The ASKs will be at the district or administrative headquarters of the area and will not only generate employment like training of tax return preparers but also spread awareness about payment of taxes," a senior I-T officer said.
The department has already scouted locations for creating the office infrastructure at all these locations and a report in this regard has been submitted to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the administrative body of the I-T department.
The CBDT will soon issue funds for setting up counters, equipping the office with computers, Internet lines, printers and deployment of manpower in these offices.