Satyam effect: I-T department to increase staff strength

In the wake of the Satyam fiasco, the Income-Tax department now wants more manpower and technical assistance for its investigation wing and closer scrutiny for TDS returns. The department, in its recent report being prepared for cadre review and restructuring, being done after eight years, will submit these suggestions to the government. "With the recent Satyam scandal, where the department is probing the TDS returns of the company, it has come to light that investigations pertaining to tax evasions are getting voluminous and challenging," a senior Revenue department officer involved in the exercise said. "We want a more non-obtrusive investigation process so that big frauds could be contained," the officer added. The central income-tax department will ask for an increase in the officer strength, which is 42,000 now. Looking at new avenues of taxation like international taxation and new areas like the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) and Securities Transaction Tax (STT), the department is falling short of staff, the officer said, adding the numbers need to be increased. The department, through a 16-member committee and 10-12 sub-committees, is trying to enable and equip itself to "meet the challenges of today and tomorrow". – www.economictimes.indiatimes.com