The amount of "certified" income tax demand left uncollected in 2009-10 was Rs 81,040.83 crore, Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said in the Lok Sabha during the Question Hour.
He said there were 15,489 tax defaulters in 2010-11 as against 14,891 in 2009-10.
Replying a question on audits of Income Tax recovery process, he said the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its report tabled in Parliament in December 2011, had identified weakening of certain control mechanism and non-adherence by the field formation to prescribed procedures in some cases.
The CAG had made observations and recommendations to further improve internal control mechanism and to monitor the recovery of income tax arrears more effectively.
Palanimanickam also said the raising of demand and recovery of taxes is a continuous process that is affected by many factors due to which arrears are accumulated.
"The position of uncollected tax dues is monitored on regular basis in each case and the possibilities of collection are constantly evaluated," the minister said.
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Besides, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) monitors cases of large demand (Rs 10 crore and above) on a quarterly basis.
He further said the factors which lead to pendency of arrears include non-traceable assesses, assesses with inadequate or nil assets and companies in liquidations. PTI NKD