Income Tax Department Staff Go on Strike Today – Tax Payer services are “bound to fail” – Union

Income Tax Department Staff Go on Strike Today – “Our demands have been put before the CBDT and the government many times. Now we are talking of decisive action and if the government does not help us we will take the agitation further,” ITEF president A K Kanojia told.

The employees of the income tax department are going on a nationwide strike today to protest the delay in promotions and appointments of tax officers in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

The strike organised by two prominent associations – Income Tax Employees Federation (ITEF) and Income Tax Gazetted Officers’ Association (ITGOA) who are both a part of the Joint Council of Action (JCA) has asked for promotions in the cadre of assistant commissioners, adequate infrastructure, filling up of all vacant posts, regularisation of casual workers and notification of recruitment rules for grade B and C employees. The two associations – ITEF and ITGOA represent about 97 per cent of the total workforce of the tax authority.

“More than 50,000 officers and staff of the department will participate in the strike as a result of which normal work in all I-T offices of the country will be stalled,” a statement issued by two major associations of the department said on Wednesday.

“More than 700 posts of assistant commissioners are lying vacant since the restructuring of the department. Some of the employees have been waiting for promotions for over 15 years. It’s time they accept our demands,” said Ravi Shankar, general secretary of ITGOA. A circular issued by JCA said employees started a non-co-operation movement on September 9 and since then have stopped all scrutiny assessments of tax returns and work pertaining to widening of tax base in the country among others.

The associations said if their demands for timely promotion in cadres and providing required infrastructure are not met, the work of budget collection and taxpayer services are “bound to fail” in the coming days.

“Our demands have been put before the CBDT and the government many times. Now we are talking of decisive action and if the government does not help us we will take the agitation further,” ITEF president A K Kanojia told.

He said the associations will hold ‘dharnas’ (sit-ins) and demonstrations outside their respective offices in the country, the central body in the national capital here will submit memoranda to the finance ministry and the CBDT.

Source : First Post