Bangkok/ New Delhi: India is rolling out “faceless tax assessment” system to forestall any discretion or harassment in tax collection, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday as he highlighted major reform initiatives launched by his government in the financial sectors in the last five years.
Hard-selling India as one of the most attractive investment destinations globally, Modi also said the country has stopped working in a routine, bureaucratic manner and was undergoing “transformative changes” in its march towards economic and social development.
The prime minister was speaking to a select group of top business leaders at an event to mark golden jubilee of the Aditya Birla Group’s operations in Thailand.
Modi also asserted that India now has one of the most people-friendly tax regimes in the world and that efforts are on to further improve taxation system.
Modi specifically mentioned about how rolling out of the Goods and Services Tax has resulted in the economic integration in the country, adding his government was working towards making it more people-friendly.
“In the last five years, we have lowered the tax burden on the middle class considerably. We are now starting faceless tax assessment so that there is no scope for discretion or harassment,” the prime minister said.
There has been criticism by the Congress party that tax officials in the Modi government have been harassing businesses and political leaders critical of the ruling establishment.
In August, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman conveyed to India Inc. that they will not face any harassment as a new system is being put in place to make officials accountable for their actions.
“In today’s India, the contribution of the hard working tax payer is cherished. One area where we have done significant work is taxation. I am happy that India is one of the most people-friendly tax regimes,” Modi.
Talking about various reform measures, Modi said the direct benefit transfer (DBT) has ended the culture of middlemen and inefficiency. “It has left little scope for error. The DBT has saved over USD 20 billion so far.”
