I-T Department to 'Name & Shame' Habitual Tax Evaders

The Income Tax department has decided to name and shame “chronic” tax defaulters by publicising their names and addresses. It is in the process of finalising the procedures of compiling the names and cases pertaining to habitual tax dodgers and subsequently uploading them on its website.

“The department would upload the names of such defaulters who have either a huge outstanding tax against their name and are absconding or they have been dodging the taxes for a repeated number of times.

The public will be informed against such people,” a senior I-T official said.

During a recent meeting of its senior officials on this issue in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the department decided that while its public campaign asking taxpayers to pay their dues has bore fruit, there are select cases of “chronic” and “persistent” default which needs to be put in public domain to obtain vital leads in these case.

The department, it is expected, would upload the names and possible addresses of such tax evaders on the lines of the 'Wanted' list uploaded by enforcement agencies like police and investigative agencies like the CBI and the NIA on their portals.

“The department while has taken every measure to reach out to a taxpayer who has not paid his taxes it will also ensure to name and shame such people who blatantly violate the law. We have written to taxpayers, sent notices and even asked for voluntary compliance but some cases are tough to crack and hence we need public help in identifying them and their concealed assets for attachment,” the official said.

The I-T may also consider measures to publish the names of such defaulters in other forms of mass communication media like newspapers but that would be done at a later stage, another official said.

Business Standard, New Delhi, 15-4-2013