President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday asked the country’s revenue officers to be sensitive to the demands and dignity of the honest tax payers.
Addressing officer-trainees of the 71st batch of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kovind said the honest tax payers are partners of the revenue services and not their adversaries.
“Tax payer is your partner, not your adversary. You have a policy and regulatory role, but you are principally a service provider,” Kovind said.
“Please be sensitive to the demands and dignity of the person – the honest tax payer – who is coming to you for a service,” he added.
He further said that India’s tax to GDP ratio needs to improve, but it has to be done by persuasion, not intrusion.
“IRS plays a pivotal role in collection of direct taxes – such as income tax, corporate taxes and wealth tax. Tax revenue is a reflection of the health of the economy. It also pays for developmental and infrastructure projects – and for nation building,” he said.
Kovind noted that IRS officers were the frontline soldiers in the battle against black money and must ensure that steps introduced by the Centre to eradicate the curse of black money must be implemented.
“These measures require follow-up by IRS officers. Along with the push towards digitisation and formalisation, they have potential of cleaning up our financial system.” He said.
“They represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” he added.
The President also expressed his desire to see more women IRS officers in future.
“A third of the officer-trainees are women. This is creditable, but only a work-in-progress. I look forward to the day when half the strength will be made up of women officers,” he said.