Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai South Arvind Sawant has written to Union finance minister Arun Jaitley complaining that the ‘tax terrorism’ of the UPA regime still continues and the BJP-led government at the Centre had done nothing to end it.
He said this year’s arrangements for citizens to file tax returns were ad hoc and last-minute, leaving very little time for the common man to do his filing.
The income tax department normally forms available for people to file returns on its website by April 1, but this year these were uploaded on August 7.
Writ petitions were filed in various high courts by the public and, in response, the Punjab and Haryana high court and the Gujarat high court on September 29 directed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to extend the date of tax filing, but the CBDT issued a circular that the extension had been given only in Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and Chandigarh.
On September 30, the Bombay high court also ordered an extension, but it was only on October 1 that the revenue secretary did so for the entire country.
“It’s funny how the CBDT issues the extension of deadline only for those few states and wastes two days before a pan-India order can be passed,” Sawant said.
The MP said nothing had changed in terms of making it easy to do business.