Kashmir Income Tax Bar Association (KITBA) today at a meeting with Principal Commissioner I-T department, Sangeeta Gupta urged her that CBDT advisory regarding scrutiny of cases of flood affected assessees in Kashmir be followed in letter and spirit.

President of the bar, NazirShikari said last year the CBDT had issued the advisory to the local I-T office here instructing it to be lenient in scrutinizing the cases of flood affected assessees. “However, unfortunately, different assessing officers of the department interpreted the advisory differently and consequently huge demands were raised against some assessees who could not produce the books that they had lost to the flood,” Shikari said.

Shikara said the Principal Commissioner assured the Bar at a meeting here today that “henceforth in all such cases the approach of the department shall humane and uniform.”

Bar members also raised the issue of hardships faced by the taxpayers due to non-filing of TDS returns by various government departments “as a result of which the tax credit is not afforded to the taxpayer and he does not get his refund.”

“In many cases huge demands are raised by the department in place of a refund,” he said.

“The Principal Commissioner said that the matter shall be taken up with the state government at the highest level so that all the DDOs file TDS returns which shall facilitate early refunds,” Shikari in a statement said.

As per statement, the Principal Commissioner said that the department shall also start “prosecution proceedings against such defaulting DDOs.”

The Bar also demanded that a senior officer of the rank of additional commissioner should be posted permanently at Srinagar who could be available for on spot redressal of grievances of the assessees.