'Taxpayer charter' on cards

New Delhi: Direct tax body CBDT will adopt a "taxpayer charter" which will ensure trust between a taxpayer and the administration and reduce harassment, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.

"Wealth creators will be respected in this country," Sitharaman said in her 2020-21 Budget speech. She said an important aspect of both ease of living and ease of doing business is fairness and efficiency of tax administration.

"We wish to enshrine in the statutes a 'taxpayer charter' through this budget. Our government would like to reassure taxpayers that we remain committed to taking measures so that our citizens are free from harassment of any kind," she said.

She further said that any tax system requires trust between taxpayers and the administration, which will be possible only when taxpayer's rights are clearly enumerated.

"With the objective of enhancing the efficiency of the delivery system of the Income Tax Department, I propose to amend the provisions of the Income Tax Act to mandate the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to adopt a Taxpayers' Charter," Sitharaman said.

The Economic Survey 2019-20 tabled in Parliament on Friday had said that ethical wealth creation is the key to India becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025. Taking forward faceless assessment process, the Budget also proposed to bring about "faceless appeal".

Currently, most of the functions of the Income Tax Department starting from the filing of return, processing of returns, issuance of refunds and assessment are performed in the electronic mode without any human interface.