Will the country finally have an integrated tax surveillance system?

Valuable leads on under-payment of tax have often slipped between CBDT and CBEC, who have been more eager to protect their respective turfs

Is India moving towards an integrated tax surveillance system? Last week the two tax collection entities of the government, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued a joint press release to say so. It said any information sitting on any of their data bases will be shared, even on a “spontaneous basis”. But after so many years of watching these two refusing to share the data telling even Parliament that it is not possible, tax payers who have gotten away by paying less may not be too worried. Valuable