Unable to respond to public complaints within 21 days, make it 60: IT department tells government | Exclusive

Last update:November 21, 2024, 06:00 IST

News18 accessed the presentation made by an Additional Director General of Income Tax. Among all ministries, the IT sector is the most waiting, with nearly 9,700 complaints, of which more than 7,300 are pending beyond the deadline set by the government…Learn more

The Income Tax (IT) department receives a high number of complaints from the public – almost 55,000 already this year. About 70% of these complaints concern computer feedback problems. Representative image

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has told the Central Public Grievance Department that it cannot process public complaints within the 21-day deadline set by the government. The ministry has now requested a 60-day delay.

The Income Tax (IT) department receives a high number of complaints from the public – almost 55,000 already this year. Around 70% of these complaints involve issues with IT returns, such as a refund request or an erroneous request from a citizen.

Among all ministries, the IT department is the most backlogged, with nearly 9,700 complaints, of which more than 7,300 have been pending for more than 21 days than the deadline stipulated by the government. This year, the average time for processing a complaint by the IT department is 65 days.

“Majority of CPGRAMS (public complaints) are related to direct taxes – handling of refunds/refund issues which require coordination and movement across verticals. The entire process involves various verticals and stakeholders, thereby helping to extend the time required to remedy such cases,” the IT department said in a presentation at a national workshop on November 18.

The Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) is an online platform for citizens to register grievances with government authorities on service-related issues. It serves as a unified portal connecting all central and state government ministries and departments, with role-based access.

Presentation of the IT department

News18 accessed the presentation made by an Additional Director General of Income Tax. “In view of the above, the period of 21 days to redress CPGRAMS is short for CPGRAMS relating to CBDT. The 21-day deadline for the recovery of CPGRAMS can be extended to 60 days. In this regard, a letter has already been written to DARPG (Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances),” the IT department said.

The government, on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, last August reduced the maximum time needed to process a citizen’s complaint to 21 days, from 30 days previously. This deadline was 60 days under the United Progressive Alliance government.

This year, so far, the Center has been able to resolve a grievance on average in just 13 days, if all departments and ministries are considered together.

The case of the ministry

The IT department, in the presentation seen by News18, said its functioning is quasi-judicial and a reasonable opportunity to be heard must be provided to the petitioner before redressal of grievances of CPGRAMS. It also specifies that, in accordance with the tax administration’s taxpayers’ charter, the time limit provided for the reimbursement or rectification of computer declarations is three months.

“In view of the above, it may not be possible to resolve the grievance within 21 days. CPGRAMS, which involve action from multiple verticals, need to traverse the entire structural hierarchy of those verticals, which takes time,” IT said.

The ministry said it was among the top five in terms of CPGRAMS turnaround quality. “Despite the large number of CPGRAMS filed with the department, the quality of grievance handling and the complainant’s satisfaction with the resolution of their grievance is high,” the IT department said.

He also listed the measures taken to reduce the waiting time for complaints.

“Great emphasis is placed on the disposal of CPGRAMS within 21 days of filing. CPGRAMS repair monitoring is carried out at all levels, from CBDT to field training. Emails are sent every week to Pr.CCIT/DGIT with the list of files to be processed as a priority. Letters are regularly written to various Pr.CITs where important cases are pending with their subordinate offices, requesting them to redress them urgently. Letters are also written for transfer of CPGRAMS to the correct Last Mile Officer,” the IT department said in the presentation.

The majority of CPGRAMS involve coordination/movement of CPGRAMS between field training and the DG (Systems). CPGRAMS must move through the structural hierarchy to reach the last-mile manager, the IT department said.

According to the department, during the financial year 2023-24, a total of 8.6 crore income tax returns were filed and Rs 3.79 lakh crore refunds were issued. The department received 69,638 complaints from the public in the last financial year and reported handling 71,083 complaints with a performance rate of 102% (including complaints carried over from 2022-2023).