Govt panel submits report on improving I-T system

A government panel on Tuesday suggested creation of National Taxpayer Services Directorate.

The Government, in February, had constituted a High-Powered Committee (HPC) on 'DRISHTI' -(Driving Information System for Holistic Tax Initiatives) under T V Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education.

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The Committee submitted its report on 'DRISHTI' to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

"The recommendations of the Committee aim at leveraging IT for improving the quality and extent of taxpayer services, encouraging voluntary tax compliance and detecting tax evasion," the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The panel has also recommended creation of a National Assessment Centre for Customs & National Processing Centre for Central Excise & Service Tax Returns and National Targeting Centre & Directorate of International Customs.

The report, after examining the existing business processes and the current status of IT Systems in CBEC, has highlighted the areas for improvement.

Other recommendations, include leveraging service oriented architecture for IT applications, merging different customs IT applications into a single system, introduction of entity-based risk management system and introduction of IT centric HR policy.

The Committee, the Ministry said also examined the suitable options for an appropriate IT governance model for Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).

The recommendations have been classified as short (upto 2 years), medium (2 to 4 years) and long term (4 to 6 years). It has also suggested steps for overseeing the implementation of its recommendations.