A Joint Council of Action comprising Income Tax Employees Federation and Income Tax Gazetted Officers Association, together forming around 97% of the workforce, is intensifying its agitation from Thursday maintaining that they had not been consulted before the Prime Minister announced the Faceless Assessment and Appeal Schemes.
In a statement issued here, the officials going on strike also said that major issues affecting the career prospects of officers and other staff under the Central Board of Direct Taxes had been neglected by the board. The issues, they said, included promotions to the grade of Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax (ACIT), Principal Administrative Officer, Income Tax Officer, and Group C grades. There was also a delay in granting senior time scale to promotee ACsIT and regularisation of ad hoc promotions to ACIT and below, they alleged.
The protesting officials, to be on hunger strike in Kerala as part of the all-India strike, will take out a lunch-hour demonstration in major officers, quit all official WhatsApp groups, will not adhere to deadlines set by the CBDT in handing over charges and issue of statutory notices, will not participate in official meetings, and will desist from submitting statistical reports called by the CBT, the protesters said.
