| Income Tax Office, Bhopal | ||||||||||
| Welcome to the official web site of the Income Tax Department, Bhopal, India. This site has been set up with the general public in mind. It aims to present, in a user friendly way, the tax system in India. Chief Commissioner's Desk : We in the Income Tax Department have always aspired to provide every possible service to the taxpayers. We are committed to be fair, helpful and efficient in deciding the matters of tax payers as well as in collecting Revenue for the Government. This website is a step in the same direction. It reflects our commitment to provide maximum information to the taxpayers. The site also provides information about the organizational setup of the Income-tax department in Bhopal. We believe that if the taxpayers are provided with relevant information which would in turn facilitate transparency in tax administration, they would themselves come forward to pay their due taxes, in a climate of trust and in a spirit of voluntary compliance. Efforts are being made to provide relevant information to the taxpayers and to ensure transparency in tax administration with the induction of latest technology. |
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| History | ||||||||||
The history of Income Tax in modern India dates back to 1860 when the first Income Tax Act was introduced and which remained in force for a period of 5 years. This Act lapsed in 1865. Thereafter Act-II of 1886 was the next landmark. This Act of 1886 was a great improvement on its predecessor. It introduced the definition of agricultural income in the form in which it stands today and the exemption it granted in respect of agricultural income has continued to be a feature of all subsequent legislations. The year 1918 saw the introduction of Act VII of 1918 which recasted the entire tax laws. This Act was designed inter-alia to remedy certain inequalities in the assessment of individual tax payers under the 1886 Act. The Act introduced, for the first time, the scheme of aggregating income from all sources for the purpose of determining the rate of tax. |
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| The Indian Income Tax Act, 1922 which came into being as a result of the recommendations of the All India Income Tax Committee. |
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The Act of 1922 remained in force till 1961. Meanwhile, in 1956 the Government had referred the Act to the Law Commission in order to recast it on logical lines and to make it simple without changing the basic tax structure. Based on the Law Commission's report, the Income Tax Bill giving effect to its recommendations was submitted in the Lok Sabha in April, 1961. The Bill received the assent of the President on 13th Sept., 1961. The present Income Tax Act is this Act of Sept., 1961. |
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| Central Board of Direct Taxes | ||||||||||
| The apex body of the Income Tax Department is the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) - manned by the officers of the Indian Revenue Service - is the administrative head of the Income Tax Department and functions as a part of the Finance Ministry of the Government of India. It performs various statutory functions. It has the power to assign jurisdiction to the authorities below and to issue orders, instructions and directions to them for the administration of the tax laws. It also enjoys certain powers of delegated legislation and is competent to make rules for carrying out the implementation of the direct tax laws. The CBDT consists of one Chairman and six members. | ||||||||||
| Roles and Duties | ||||||||||
India has a well developed tax structure. The Constitution of India empowers the legislature to enact and enforce tax laws. The taxes so collected are required to be divided between the Central Government and the State Governments. The Central government levies direct taxes such as personal income tax and corporate tax, and also indirect taxes like customs duties, excise duties and central sales tax. The states in turn are empowered to levy state sales tax, entertainment tax etc. apart from various other local taxes like entry tax, octroi, etc.
In the wake of economic reforms, the tax system of our country has underwent significant changes over the past six years. The tax rates have been rationalised and now compare favourably with most other countries. Further, the tax laws have been simplified to ensure better compliance. At present, the Income Tax Department under the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance administers the following Tax Laws. (The Gift Tax Act and the Estate Duty Act which were also administered by the Income Tax Department in earlier years have now been repealed).
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| Duties of the Department | ||||||||||
| The role of Income Tax Deptt. is manifold. The Indian Revenue Service Officers are responsible for administering fiscal laws like the Income Tax Act, Wealth Tax Act, Interest Tax Act, Expenditure Tax Act, etc. The immediate object is to collect tax and to detect and deter tax evasion. They also have a duty towards the tax paying public. They advise the public of their rights and duties as part of creating an environment of mutual trust between the deptartment and the public. The second role of the department is to help achieve the socio-economic objectives of the government through planned tax legislation and thus contribute to the implementation of the government's wider policies. The department also negotiates and implements wide ranging Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements. |