Sitharaman Urges I-T Officers to Raise Benchmark

New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked income tax officers to raise their benchmark in timely execution of policies and earn taxpayer trust through their conduct.

Lauding income tax (I-T) officers for their nimbleness in adapting to newer technologies and drafting the new income tax bill within just six months, Sitharaman nudged them to clear OGE backlog as early as possible.

OGE -- or order giving effect -- refers to an order that an I-T officer has to pass when a taxpayer wins a case against the department in appeal against assessment.

"Good policies alone are not enough, what matters actually is timely execution... I think all these years you (tax officer) have done your maximum best. Now is the time to raise the benchmark," she said at the 166th Income Tax Day event here.

"You're capable of being even better. Let's earn the trust of the taxpayers through our conduct," she said.

She said income tax day is the moment to reaffirm the unsaid social contract between the state and the taxpayer.

"We really cannot afford to have that fray at the edges. We cannot afford that unsaid social contract between the state and the taxpayer to become loose, become diluted," Sitharaman said.

Giving awards to officers who were involved in drafting the new income tax bill, 2025, Sitharaman said 60,000 man hours were needed in drafting the proposed law which has been made the Income Tax 1961 simpler.

"Since 1961, it has not been touched, layers and layers got added to it. A comprehensive review had not happened. So, that work which was taken up required that many number of hours," Sitharaman said.