The Hindu Business Line : IT’s no taxing experience

Standing in serpentine queues, running from one corridor to another in search of the right counter, putting up with rude replies, fumbling to ‘attach’ annexures left out in a hurry; and finally emerging out of the imposing Aayakar Bhavan after an hour or two, clutching a soggy income tax receipt. This has for long been my gloomy recollection of filing a tax return.

But this year has been different, and how! Thanks to the new ways adopted by the Income Tax department, filing tax returns has become a pleasurable experience; not much different from a jaunt in the mall! Don’t believe me? Here’s the story.

Running into pleasant surprises

‘Three more days to go to file tax returns’ screamed the advertisements by the Income Tax Department in newspapers. I had yet to pay my taxes. The law now allows tax return preparers (people other than the ubiquitous auditors who were qualified to calculate your tax and fill your form) to help fill the complex IT forms. But I decided to put my accounting qualification to some useand declare and pay my taxes without anyone’s help.

Come morning and the boss was suitably cautioned about my late arrival. First, a trip to the bank to pay some additional taxes, other than what was already deducted. The first surprise came in the form of a warm reception at the bank where I hold my savings account.

While the ‘privileged’ or ‘priority’ customers are provided express service, normal customers like me usually have to wait it out for almost anything. Not so for taxpayers! I was immediately directed to a desk with two men ready for the day’s work. After filling a simple form and drawing a cheque, I had a receipt for the tax payment in my hands, with a neat photo copy; “in case you need it madam”.

Festive mood

This unexpectedly good start put me in a such a good mood that the auto rickshaw trip to the income-tax office – the Aayakar Bhavan, seemed quick even in the maddening traffic. As I walked down the huge area and took a right turn, I ran into a surprise — Shamianas. Is the I.T. department celebrating 50 years of tax collection? I looked around and suddenly heard a loudspeaker blare “The I.T. department heartily welcomes you”. Ah, preparing us for the kill, was my cynical thought.

As I walked into the tented area, I found the counters neatly organised and labelled. Those with an income of less then Rs 5 lakh and over Rs 5 lakh had separate sections. These were sorted alphabetically. The counter you needed to go to depended on the first letter of your name.

There was also a separate counter for the physically challenged and senior citizen taxpayers. A total of 60 special counters in all! To the right were at least six-eight helpdesks to answer any queries one might have about the IT forms. Further down were men and women armed with slim desktops, to check your Permanent Account Number (PAN), in case your PAN was provided in a different State/province. Easily locating counter 26 allotted to me, I found the queue and the wait pleasantly short, with just two people ahead of me and less than five minutes to secure the receipt.

The wait was shorter because the authorities did not have to verify myriad attachments and proofs that one typically files with the tax papers. Over the last two years, nothing other than the tax form and a receipt of any additional self-assessment tax paid need be attached.

Food as a mood-lifter

My tax filing ritual was over, and no sweat, with pedestal fans to ward off the heat. Turning around triumphantly, I screened the area at a more leisurely pace. The department had thoughtfully provided clean drinking water on a bubbletop. A public phone (perhaps for local calls) was available free of cost, in case you had to verify details with somebody.

A sign informed us that taxes could actually be paid at the bank located inside the income tax campus. And there were quite a few other conveniences reminiscent of a mall. A coffee/tea vending machine….. and was that the aroma of sambar; yes, there was a Saravana Bhavan food stall! I indulged in a samosa and a coffee and tuned in to the Raag Kalyani being rendered through the loud speaker.

Walking out, I was still on a high! Even the few thousands soon to be debited from my account barely hurt!

Looking back, the experience shows the efforts that India’s tax collectors are putting in to erase the stereotyped image of a hostile and unfriendly ‘government office’. Who said government organisations don’t go that extra mile?

As I stood looking at the ancient building, the title of the famous British album, “you’ve come a long way, baby” popped into my mind.

So much so that even my friend who filed his tax online (and that’s where they have gone high-tech) wished he had come down, at least for the samosas.

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