Using social media to help taxpayers

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

tax rates to easing compliances, these reforms have fundamentally changed the approach of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) towards taxpayers — an approach marked by trust, transparency and responsiveness. The broad trends of number of income-tax returns (ITRs) filed as well as the direct tax collections over this period have vindicated this trust-based approach. A major enabler of this success has been CBDT's embrace of technology to not only simplify compliances but to also identify potential cases of tax evasion through data analytics.

E-filing of ITRs has been further improved by introducing pre-filled ITR forms. The faceless assessment procedures now make the entire assessment cycle of an ITR an online process, obviating the need for a taxpayer to interact physically with the department. Advanced tools of data analytics are used in the risk management process to identify potential cases of tax evasion by rule-based algorithms.

Information of the financial transactions in possession of the department is used to alert the taxpayers, as a gentle nudge, to correctly account for the effect of such transactions while filing their ITRs. Technology has not only been used to enhance the aforesaid core processes of tax administration but also in the resolution of grievances. There are already various mechanisms of grievance redressal in CBDT, including CPGRAM, e-Nivaran and Aaykar Seva Kendras (ASK).