Cross my palm with silver to clear your taxes!
It is such an irony that a department that is supposed to ensure you do not cheat the government of its due also indulges in practices that could earn it the label of a cheat.
Evading taxes on income and property is a punishable offence under the Indian Penal Code. Is there any section under which those who refuse to clear Income Tax (IT) filings can be brought to book?
IT officials have been raking in moolah by refusing to clear the returns filed by many citizens unless their palms are greased. A respondent from Coimbatore had to pay Rs 7,500 as bribe to an official to clear pending dues of a particular financial year. The officer in-charge started demanding returns filed the last seven years to accept the present papers.
Sharing the guilt he experienced after paying the bribe, the Coimbatorean said that he did not have the time to repeatedly visit I-T offices to produce documents of proof and so was forced to pay the amount demanded http://ipaidabribe.com/bribe-central/income-tax-department-bribe.
Another respondent from Vijayawada had to pay Rs 1,000 as bribe to clear the refund cheque given by his company after he had filed returns. For every refund cheque, income-tax officials in Vijayawada demand 10% commission, he charges. http://ipaidabribe.com/bribe-central/rate-fixed-refund-10
It is ridiculous that one has to pay bribe to get back one’s hard-earned money.
By Juwairia Mekhri