The Government of India had done well in formulating an Ombudsman Scheme for income-tax and appointing senior persons as Ombudsmen in various regions.

The publicity given to the scope of the scheme and to the matters for which the Ombudsman can be approached was also most helpful and one can be certain that many honest tax payers would have taken advantage of the scheme.

It is, therefore, a matter of regret that after the retirement of the Ombudsman for Chennai, no person has so far been appointed to the post.

This situation should be rectified and a senior official of impeccable credentials, preferably not from the income-tax service, should be appointed immediately if the Government is serious about the scheme.