Speed up rolling out common tax return form: Parliamentary panel

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New Delhi: The finance ministry should speed up the process of introducing a common income tax return form which will make tax filings easier, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance led by Jayant Sinha said in a report tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday. The panel, which has 31 members from both the Houses, in addition to the Chairperson, said that it is expected the proposed common tax return form, which was released for public consultation in November last year, would bring ease of return filing to individuals and non-business-type tax payers considerably.

"The committee, therefore, would expect the ministry to expedite the process and introduce the new format at the earliest," the report said. The panel also said that the measures that can prevent harassment of honest tax payers, should be stringently complied with by the agencies and officers concerned.

The standing committee also said that the department of revenue is in the process of framing rules for the GST Tribunal under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act. Welcoming the move, the panel said that this will help to ensure that GST disputes are resolved in a timely and efficient manner.

In a separate report relating to the ministry of corporate affairs, the panel highlighted the issue of manpower shortage and said that the issue should be resolved. The panel said that it was concerned about the vacancies in key bodies under the ministry, which include 40 vacancies in the National Financial Reporting Authority, 150 vacancies in Serious Fraud Investigation Office and 70 vacancies in Competition Commission of India, in addition to some vacant posts in the National Company Law Tribunal.