A World Bank-IFC-PricewaterhouseCoopers study called Paying Taxes, 2008, placed India 165 in the overall ranking. However, things are looking up for tax administration. The government has made e-payment of income tax for corporates and other large taxpayers like self-employed professionals mandatory from the next fiscal.
Taking the next logical step, the government has made e-filing of tax returns mandatory for this category of taxpayers. E-payment for indirect taxes like service tax, customs and excise has also taken off.
Improvement in tax administration has been high on the FM’s agenda. It is, therefore, no surprise that a large part of what he sought to achieve in the last budget has moved forward. However, while some initiatives have taken off successfully, others have been slower to get off the ground.
Extending the refund banker scheme to ensure that assesses receive their income-tax refunds in time is one such scheme.