India To Launch Electronic Tax Refund System

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

07 October 2003

The Indian Finance Ministry is soon to launch a new electronic tax refund system to replace the current bureaucratic and cumbersome system and make payments more efficient for both businesses and individuals.

According to a senior official at the Finance Ministry, the system, which is to be operated through the electronic credit system of the Reserve Bank of India, will be up and running in two months time. In the meantime, the official indicated that a series of meetings have been held with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the subject of changing audit rules and treasury rules.

The increasing use of the electronic media to transmit and receive payments and store data is part of a wider modernisation of the Indian income tax system, and was one of the key recommendations of the Kelkar review. Taxpayers can now file their income tax returns electronically under a new system launched earlier in the year and operated through six national banks in several major cities. The government plans to expand the coverage of the scheme in the near future.

Recommended