Nirmala Sitharaman to attend 159th Income Tax Day event on July 24, CBDT to launch taxpayer e-assistance campaign

The CBDT will launch a country-wide taxpayer e-assistance campaign on the occasion of 159th Income Tax Day on Wednesday, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will attend an event here to mark the day, officials said on Monday. The campaign has been conceptualised by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and it will be launched across all regional offices of the Income Tax Department, they said.

The taxman will hold camps to help taxpayers in e-filing of their returns and this "hand-holding" will be done to enable them understand the recent changes in the forms, laws and utilities (softwares) of the direct taxes regime, a policy plan accessed by PTI stated. The campaign was planned after the CBDT, that frames policy for the department, received representations from taxpayers and stakeholders, such as chartered accountants and banks, that they require more assistance and support in enabling them in filing returns electronically and in discharging other IT related obligations under the tax laws, they said.

Among other events, all regional offices of the Income Tax Department will celebrate the day by honouring those assessees who file their taxes diligently. The main event will be held in Delhi which will be attended by Sitharaman and Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, sources said. The Union minister is expected to deliver a speech and award the best-performing Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and other officials of the tax department during the event, they said.

All officers from the rank of Assistant Commissioner and above posted in Delhi, have been asked to mandatorily attend the event that will be held from 10 am at Ambedkar International Centre on Janpath Road, a source said. July 24 is celebrated as the 'Income Tax Day' as this tax was first levied as a duty on this day in the year 1860 and the authority to levy it came into force on July 24 of that year.