Even as the country’s tax kitty is looking at a healthy rise, revenue secretary Sunil Mitra today said the Department of Revenue is facing scarcity of manpower.
“Our department is facing problems in operations due to shortage of about 50 per cent of manpower, as promotions have been stagnant for some years. Some of the posts are blocked due to litigation,” Mitra said, during a seminar organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Exim Bank in Kolkata.
However, he expressed hope that things will improve before the next financial year. “Though the recruitment process is on in the lower-level, we are facing shortage in higher ranks. As a result, some are holding multiple positions,” he said.
Mitra added that the government is working on it and problems will be sorted out with in this financial year.
Regarding the total tax collection, Mitra said in the first seven months, the country has already covered more than 50 per cent of the budgetary tax target during this financial year. The target tax collection for the current financial year — including direct and indirect taxes — is Rs 745,000 crore. He added the tax revenue will grow 18.8 per cent this year compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, the revenue secretary said the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime will not be implemented from April 1 next year, as it needs several constitutional amendments contrary to the suggestion made by some states. “By no way, it will come out by April 1. We have to reach a consensus with states on issues of some amendments,” he said.
On the Direct Taxes Code (DTC), which is scheduled to replace Income Tax Act, Mitra said, “We already had a meeting of the Parliamentary standing committee and are taking a participatory approach in terms of framing these policies. DTC will become a law by some time next year and our main focus is to reduce tax exemptions, as it would add more money to the government kitty.”
