The Income-Tax Department has achieved a significant increase in the tax collections in the State which crossed the Rs. 25,000-crore mark this year.
The department could achieve the milestone in spite of the agitations and economic downturn that impacted the industry.
The net growth in collection was 13 per cent and gross grew by 16 per cent while there was 46 per cent rise in the filing of returns, G. Rajeswara Rao, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax-I, said.
ASK launched
Mr. Rajeswara Rao launched the department's new initiative Ayakar Seva Kendra (ASK), a single window contact for centralised receipt and registration of certain specified categories of documents filed by taxpayers including filing of returns.
Similar centre was inaugurated at the Ayakar Bhavan in the city and Visakhapatnam and the department would, henceforth, not receive any documents directly if there was ASK on its premises.
Speaking to reporters after formally launching ASK, he said the Seva Kendras were an effort to changing the Income-Tax department's image from an ‘enforcement agency' to a service oriented organisation.
Several other new initiatives were in the offing as efforts were underway to allow payment of advance tax through credit/debit cards making the transaction paperless and cashless.
The I-T Department at Hyderabad was facing staff shortage of 25 per cent as a result of which existing officials were overburdened.
He denied that there was inordinate delay in settling refund claims and said, in fact, delays were seen only in cases where taxpayers did not file their returns properly.
