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The Income
Tax Ombudsman Guidelines 2006
Government of India
Office of the Ombudsman Income Tax Department, Mumbai – 400 020
Defect Letter
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please refer to your complaint dated ..... to the Income Tax
Ombudsman, Mumbai. Your complaint is defective for the reasons given
in the enclosed checklist.
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Please rectify the defect(s) and resubmit your application within
10 days so that necessary action can be expedited.
OR
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For the reasons indicated in the check list your complaint cannot
be acted upon.
Yours faithfully,
Hardayal Singh
Ombudsman
Mumbai
Annexure to the Defect Letter
Check list
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The complaint has not been signed by the complainant.
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It has not been signed by the authorized representative.
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It does
not contain:
(a) The name and address of the complainant
(b) Supporting documents
(c) Details of the relief sought from the Ombudsman
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It has
been made electronically but the hard copy (print out) does not have
the complainant's
signature.
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The complainant does not seem to have reported to the immediate
superior of the officer complained against.
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More than one month has not passed before the representation to
the immediate superior was filed.
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The complainant does not appear to be aggrieved with the reply
received from the immediate superior.
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(a) The complaint has been made after the expiry of one year from
the receipt of the reply of the immediate superior;
OR
(b) Where no reply has been received from the immediate superior;
the complaint has been filed after the lapse of 13 months from the
date of filing of the representation before the immediate superior.
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The complaint is the subject matter of an earlier proceeding with
the Ombudsman.
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The ground(s) of the complaint is/are also the subject matter of
a proceeding in appeal, revision, reference or writ before an
appellate authority or a revisionary authority or a Court of Law.
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The ground is not covered by Guideline 9 of the Income Tax
Ombudsman Guidelines, 2006.
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The complainant is represented by an authorised representative
but no power of attorney to represent the complainant before the
Ombudsman has been filed.
The Income Tax Ombudsman Guidelines 2006
The Guidelines are introduced with the objective of enabling the
resolution of complaints relating to public grievances against the
Income Tax Department and to facilitate the satisfaction or
settlement of such complaints.
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
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Short title, commencement, extent and application
I. These Guidelines shall be known as the Income Tax Ombudsman
Guidelines, 2006.
II. They shall come into force from 1st January, 2006.
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Definitions
I. ‘authorized representative’ means a person duly appointed and
authorized by a complainant to act on his behalf and represent him
in the proceedings under these guidelines for consideration of his
complaint.
II. ‘award’ means an award passed by the Ombudsman in accordance
with these Guidelines.
III. ‘complaint’ means a representation in writing or through
electronic means containing an administrative grievance alleging
deficiency in the working of the Income-tax Department as mentioned
in clause 9 of the Guidelines.
IV. ‘guidelines’ means the Income Tax Ombudsman Guidelines, 2006.
V. ‘Income tax authority complained against’ means the junior-most
Income Tax Officer not below the rank of an Income Tax Officer who
has given the cause of grievance to the complainant. If the
grievance has been caused by an official lower in rank than an
Income Tax Officer, then this term shall mean the officer in the
rank of an Income Tax Officer who is in-charge of such official.
VI. ‘Ombudsman’ means any person appointed under Clause 3 of the
Guidelines.
CHAPTER II
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF INCOME TAX OMBUDSMAN
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Appointment and Tenure
I. On the recommendations of a Committee consisting of the
Secretary, Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance, the
Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Member (Personnel),
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the Central Government may
appoint one or more persons as Ombudsman.
II. The Ombudsman selected shall be a person who has held a post in
the Government of India in the pay scale of Rs. 22,400-525-24,500
for at least two years and shall preferably be a resident of the
city where he is proposed to be appointed. He shall be a serving
officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) or if a suitable
officer from that service is not available, any other group A’
service of the Central Government. When appointed as Ombudsman, he
shall seek retirement from Government service before entering upon
his office as an Ombudsman.
III. The Ombudsman shall be independent of the jurisdiction of the
Income tax department.
IV. The Ombudsman shall be appointed for a tenure of 2 years
extendable by one year based on performance appraisal or till the
incumbent attains the age of 63 years, whichever is earlier. There
shall be no reappointment. Performance appraisal shall be made by
the Committee constituted in clause 3.1.
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Remuneration
The Ombudsman shall be allowed pay and allowances as applicable to a
Central Government Officer in the pay scale of Rs.
24,050-600-26,000. Any pension to which he is entitled from the
Central Government/State Government shall be deducted from his
salary.
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Territorial Jurisdiction
The Central Government shall specify the territorial jurisdiction of
each Ombudsman.
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Location of offices
The offices of Income Tax Ombudsman shall initially be located at
New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad,
Pune, Kanpur, Chandigarh, Bhopal and Kochi. The Government may
notify additional locations and appoint an Ombudsman for each
location.
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Secretariat
Each Ombudsman shall be provided with a secretariat staff consisting
of a Private Secretary, UDC and a Peon by the Central Board of
Direct Taxes.
CHAPTER III
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Powers and Duties
I. The Ombudsman shall have the powers to —
(a) receive complaints from tax-payers on any matters specified in
clause 9;
(b) consider such complaints and facilitate their satisfaction or
settlement by agreement, through conciliation and mediation between
the Income Tax Department and the ggrieved parties or by passing an
‘award’ in accordance with the Guidelines;
(c) require the Income Tax Authority complained against or any other
related Income Tax Authority to provide any information or furnish
certified copies of any document relating to the subject mailer of
the complaint which is or is alleged to be in its possession;
provided that in the event of failure of such authority to comply
with the requisition without any sufficient cause, the Ombudsman
may, if he deems fit, draw the inference that the information, if
provided or copies if furnished, would be unfavourable to the
concerned Income Tax Authority;
(d) suggest remedial measures for redressal of grievances; and
(e) report his findings to the Secretary, Department of Revenue, GOI
and the Chairman CBDT for appropriate action against erring
officials;
II. The Ombudsman shall have the following duties:
(a) to exercise general powers of superintendence and control over
his office and be responsible for the conduct of business in his
office;
(b) to maintain confidentiality of any information or document
coming into his knowledge or possession in the course of discharging
his duties and not disclose such information or document to any
person except with the consent of the person furnishing such
information or document; provided that nothing in this clause shall
prevent the Ombudsman from disclosing information or documents
furnished by a party in a complaint to the other party or parties,
to the extent considered by him to be reasonably required to comply
with the principles of natural justice and fair play in the
proceedings;
(c) to protect individual tax-payer’s rights and reduce tax-payers’
burden;
(d) to identify issues that increase the compliance burden or create
problems for tax-payers, and to bring those issues to the attention
of the CBDT and the Ministry of Finance;
(e) to send a monthly report to the Chairman CBDT and Secretary,
Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance recommending
appropriate action. The report shall specially highlight cases where
action needs to be taken against erring Income Tax authorities for
their failure to redress the grievance. The report will be
accompanied with primary evidence needed to initiate action against
the delinquent persons;
(f) to furnish a report every year containing a general review of
activities of the office of the Ombudsman during the preceding
financial year to the Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of
Finance and the Chairman, CBDT along with such other information as
may be considered necessary by him. In the annual report, the
Ombudsman, on the basis of grievances handled by him, will review
the quality of the working of the Income-tax Department and make
recommendations to improve the tax administration; and
(g) to compile a list of ‘awards’ passed by it between April and
March of each financial year in respect of every Income Tax
Authority Complained Against, by name, and report it to the
controlling Chief Commissioners of the officers concemed and the
Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes before the end of April so
that this informatign can be reflected in the Annual Confidential
Reports of the officers concerned.
CHAPTER IV
PROCEDURE FOR REDRESSAL OF GRIEVANCES
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Grounds on which complaint shall be filed
I. A complaint on any one or more of the following grounds alleging
deficiency in the working of the Income-tax Department may be filed
with the Ombudsman:
(a) delay in issue of refunds beyond time limits prescribed by law
or under the relevant instructions issued from time to time by the
Central Board of Direct Taxes;
(b) sending of envelopes without refund vouchers in cases of refund;
(c) non adherence to the principle of ‘First Come First Served’ in
sending refunds;
(d) non acknowledgement of letters or documents sent to the
department;
(e) non up-dating of demand and other registers leading to
harassment of assessees;
(f) lack of transparency in identifying cases for scrutiny and non
communication of reasons for selecting the case for scrutiny;
(g) delay in disposing cases of interest waiver;
(h) delay in disposal of rectification applications;
(i) delay in giving effect to the appellate orders;
(j) delay in release of seized books of account and assets, after
the proceedings under the Income-tax Act in respect of the years for
which the books of account or other documents are relevant are
completed;
(k) delay in allotment of permanent account number (PAN);
(l) non credit of tax paid, including tax deducted at source;
(m) non adherence to prescribed working hours by Income Tax
officials;
(n) unwarranted rude behaviour of Income Tax officials with
assessees;
(o) any other mafter relating to violation of the administrative
instructions and circularsissued by the Central Board of Direct
Taxes in relation to Income-tax administration.
II. Central Board of Direct Taxes may include any other ground on
which a complaint may be filed with the Ombudsman.
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Procedure for filing the complaint
I Any person, who has a grievance against the Income-tax Department,
may, himself or through his authorized representative, make a
complaint against the Income-tax official in writing to the
Ombudsman.
II (a) The complaint shall be duly signed by the complainant and his
authorised representative, if any, and shall state clearly the name
and address of the complainant, the name of the office and official
of the Income-tax Department against whom the complaint is made, the
facts giving rise to the complaint supported by documents, if any,
relied on by the complainant and the relief sought from the
Ombudsman;
(b) A complaint made through electronic means shall also be accepted
by the Ombudsman and a print out of such complaint shall be taken on
the record of the Ombudsman.
(c) A printout of the complaint made through electronic means shall
be signed by the complainant at the earliest possible opportunity
before the Ombudsman takes steps for conciliation or settlement.
(d) The signed printout shall be deemed to be the complaint and it
shall relate back to the date on which the complaint was made
through electronic means.
III No complaint to the Ombudsman shall lie unless:-
(a) the complainant had, before making a complaint to the Ombudsman,
made a written representation to the Income Tax authority superior
to the one complained against and either such authority had rejected
the complaint or the complainant had not received any reply within a
period of one month after such authority had received his
representation or the complainant is not satisfied with the reply
given to him by such authority;
(b) the complaint is made not later than one year after the
complainant has received the reply of the department to his
representation or, in case, where no reply is received, not later
than one year and one month after the representation to the Income
Tax Authority.
(c) the complaint is not in respect of the same subject mailer which
was settled through the Office of the Ombudsman in any previous
proceedings whether or not received from the same complainant or
along with any one or more complainants or any one or more of the
parties concerned with the subject matter; and
(d) the complaint is not frivolous or vexatious in nature.
IV No complaint shall be made to the Income-tax Ombudsman on an
issue which has been or is the subject matter of any proceeding in
an appeal, revision, reference or writ before any Income-tax
Authority or Appellate Authority or Tribunal or Court.
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Proceedings to be summary in nature
The Ombudsman shall not be bound by any legal rules of evidence and
may follow such procedure that appears to him to be fair and proper.
The proceedings before the Ombudsman shall be summary in nature.
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Settlement of complaints by agreement
I. As soon as it may be practicable so to do, the Ombudsman shall
cause a notice of the receipt of any complaint along with a copy of
the complaint to be sent to the Income Tax Authority Complained
Against and endeavour to promote a settlement of the complaint by
agreement between the complainant and such authority through
conciliation or mediation;
II. For the purpose of promoting a settlement of the complaint, the
Ombudsman may follow such procedure as he may consider appropriate.
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Award by the Ombudsman
I. If a complaint is not settled by agreement within a period of one
month from the date of receipt of the complaint or such further
period as the Ombudsman may consider necessary, he may pass an award
after affording the parties reasonable opportunity to present their
case. He shall be guided by the evidence placed before him by the
parties, the principles of Income Tax law and practice, directions,
instructions and guidelines issued by the Central Board of Direct
Taxes or the Central Government from time to time and such other
factors which in his opinion are necessary in the interest of
justice.
II. The ‘award’ passed under sub-clause (1) above shall be a
speaking order consisting of the following components:
(a) Directions to the concerned Income Tax Authority such as
performance of its obligations like expediting delayed matters,
giving reasons for decisions and issuing apology to complainants
etc., except a direction affecting the quantum of tax assessment or
imposition of penalties under the Income Tax Act.
(b) A token compensation amount not exceeding Rs. 1000/- (Rs. One
Thousand only) for the loss suffered by the complainant.
(c) Designation of the Income Tax officer to whom the letter of
acceptance of the award is to be communicated as detailed in clause
13.4.
III. A copy of the ‘award’ shall be sent to the complainant and the
Income-tax Authority complained against.
IV. The ‘award’ shall be binding on the Income Tax Department and on
the complainant provided that an award shall not be binding on the
Income Tax Department unless the complainant furnishes to it, within
a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of a copy of the award,
a letter of acceptance of the award in full and final settlement of
his complaint. If the complainant does not accept the Award passed
by the Ombudsman or fails to furnish his letter of acceptance within
the said period of 15 days or within such time, not exceeding a
period of 15 days that may be granted by the Ombudsman, the award
shall lapse and be of no effect.
V. Any token compensation given as a part of the award shall be paid
by the Income Tax Department out of the budget allocated under the
head ‘Office Expenses’ of the office of the Income Tax Authority
complained against. Such payments shall take priority over any other
expenditure from this allocation.
VI. The Income Tax Authority complained against shall, within one
month from the date of the award, comply with the award and intimate
compliance to the Ombudsman.
CHAPTER V
MISCELLANEOUS
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Removal of difficulties
If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of these
Guidelines, the Central Government may make such provisions not
inconsistent with the Income-tax Act or the Guidelines as it appears
to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty.
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