F. No. DIT (TPS-1)/01/2016-17/508
Governm ent of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
Directorate of Income-tax (Taxpayer Services-I)
New Delhi, the 2nd August, 2016
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOP) FOR ADMINISTERING TAX PAYER SERVICES
1. The Income-tax Department is committed to promote voluntary compliance with the direct tax laws through quality tax payer The Department is consistently striving for provid ing efficient services and assisting the tax payers to discharge their tax obligations . It aspires for continual improvement in its service delivery mechanism by upgrading the infrastructure and skill sets of its employees for ensuring the desired level of tax payer satisfaction.
2. System for Service Delivery and Redressal of Grievances in the Income-tax Department
2.1 Old system of Grievance redressal
2.1.1 The Manual of Office Procedure (Volume-1), February, 2003 issued by Directorate of Income-tax (O&MS) provides the work process relating to Public Relations and Grievance Redressal Mechanism in Chapter-14. The Chapter provides for a hierarchy of Grievance Cells viz. Central Grievance Cell under the Chairman CBDT, Regional Grievances under Chief Commissioners/Directo rs General of Income-tax and Grievances Cell under the outstation Commissioners of Income-tax. The Manual also provides the procedure for dealing with the grievance petition, maintenance of registers and reports, Samman Scheme, Sampark Scheme and the Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS).
2. Since the release of the Manual of Office Procedure, 2003, the Department has re-engineered its business processes and now most of the assessment related work is driven through technology like CPC ITR, CPC-TDS , SBI refund Banker, NSDL, UTIITSL The 1998 Citizen ‘s Charter has been reviewed and revised in 2014 which is a declaration of the department’s vision, mission and its commitment towards maintenance of standards of service delivery to the tax payers. The department continues to have a multi layered Public Grievance Redressal System for resolution of complaints relating to pubic grievances against the department as below:
- Central Grievance Cell functioning at
- Regional Grievances under the Pr. CCsIT/CCsIT.
- Income-tax Ombudsmen functioning in 12 cities
- Sevottam Scheme aimed at ‘Excellence in Service Delivery through Aayakar Seva Kendra
2.2 New System of Dedicated Structure for Delivery and Monitoring of tax payer services.
2.2.1 Considering that there are several authorities involved in delivery of tax payer services Assessing Officers and officers in their supervisory chain, ASKs, Appellate Authorities, CPC-ITR, CPC TDS, CPGRAMs, there was felt a need to consolidate these efforts in a systematic structure to bring various arms engaged in delivery of tax payer services under one umbrella. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified a dedicated structure for tax payer services.The CBDT vide Order No.01 /Ad.VII/2016 dated 26/02/2016 (Annexure-I) has setup a dedicated structure for delivery and monitoring of Tax Payer Services (TPS) and its attached and subordinate offices.
2.2.2 The Member(R), CBDT will oversee the delivery and monitoring of Tax Payer Services and Pr.DGIT (Admn.) will be responsible for delivery and monitoring of Tax Payer Services in the attached Directorates of CBDT as well as field offices of Income-tax Department. The Member (Revenue) has been re-designated as Member (Revenue & TPS) and the Pr.DGIT (Admn.) has been re-designated Pr.DGIT (Admn. & TPS). Two separate Directorates for delivery and monitoring of Tax Payer Services viz. Directorate of Income-tax (TPS-I) and Directorate of lncome-tax (TPS-II) headed by Addl. Director General of Income-tax (TPS-I) and Addl. Director General of Income-tax (TPS-II) respectively, which have been setup under the Pr.DGIT (Admn. & TPS) by re-designation of existing Directorate of Income-tax (TDS) and Directorate of Income-tax (Infra.-3) respectively. The structure for field formations has been provided separately in the said order.
2.3 Aayakar Seva Kendras (ASK)
2.3.1 As per the structure of the Tax Payer Services delivery and monitoring system prescribed above, Aaykar Seva Kendra (ASK) has been made the smallest unit for Tax Payer Services. Aayakar Seva Kendra (ASK) is the mechanism used by CBDT for implementing the philosophy of ‘Sevottam initiated by the PMO. Aayakar Seva Kendra (ASK) is the single window system for implementation of Citizen’s Charter of the Income Tax Department and a mechanism for achieving excellence in public service delivery . The procedure to be followed at the ASKs is provided in the Process Document of the Service Quality Manual (SQM).
2.4 e-Nivaran (Unified Grievance Handling Mechanism)
2.4.1 Unified Grievance Handling Mechanism (e-Nivaran) is aimed at consolidating grievances received across all platforms CPGRAMs, E-filing, CPC-ITR, CPC-TDS, ASK, NSDL, UTIISL and SBI-Refund Banker. Internal channelization of grievances between different department systems and workflow based grievance resolution mechanism in the ITB-A for department users is aimed at centralized monitoring and speeding the grievance redressal mechanism.
2.4.2 In the process through e-Nivaran, all the Income-tax related grievances filed on e-filing (including CPC-ITR), CPC-TDS, ASKs, NSDL, UTIITSL, SBI refund banker and manually having PAN if AN will be routed through the ITBA e-Nivaran application and/or onward to the respective Systems such as e-filing/CPC-ITR, CPC-TDS etc. based on the categorization of the grievance by the taxpayer. The salient features of e-Nivaran are as under :
- Grievance can be entered by any officer/official and marked to designated AO or system (CPC-ITR, CPC-TDS, NSDLfUTITSL, SBI Refund banker, E-filing) for resolution.
- Online filing of grievance will be through E-filing.
- Paper format received at ASK, DEO or by Officer’s staff or Officer using simple data entry screen -no RSA token required.
- Grievance will be resolved by integration with respective ITBA modules such as rectification , refund re-issue, return receipt and processing
- Grievance can be transferred from one system to another (AO to CPC-ITR) through system
- Resolution of grievance communicated to taxpayer
- Unified view of all grievances and status by AO and hierarchy
- Taxpayer to get email/SMS on grievance filing and resolution (if email and mobile is provided).
- Proposed redirection from CP-GRAMS toE-filing for single window online grievance filing for operational issues (needs discussion with DARPG).
- Taxpayer to view status at ASK or AO for walk-in mode and through E-filing for Online mode.
- Comprehensive MIS of all grievances irrespective of where it is filed
- Integration with all other systems- CPC-ITR, CPC-TDS, E-filing, NSDLIUTITSL , SBI-Refund Banker for transfer of grievances.
- Integration with all ITBA modules .
- Integration with common ASK and online Dak Module for data entry.
2.4.3 The revamped ASKs is being rolled out in ITBA and the process to be followed for receipt of OAK under this module is available in the ITBA ASK/User Manual, June 2016 (AnnexureII)
3. Resource Management
3.1 Manpower
3.1.1 The vertical for tax payer services in the CBDT and its attached Directorates and in the field formations has been outlined in the order No.A-11011/02 /2015-Ad.VII dated 26.02.2016. In this regard, letter F. No.DIT(TPS-I) /01/2015-16 dated 21.03.2016 and 04.07.2016 (Annexure-Ill) may kindly be referred to. The Income-tax employee posted in the ASKs to manage the receipt and categorization of the ASK must have the following pre-requisites for working on ASK module ITBA i.e. revamped ASK-
(i) Employee number
(ii) Name based email id
(iii) RSA token
(Reference Sevottam Instruction No.8 vide F.No. Sevottam/DIT(S)-11/2016-17/5543 dated 23.06.2016- (Annexure-IV)
3.2 Infrastructure
The new Unified Grievance Redressal Mechanism (e-Nivaran) would require upgradation of the existing infrastructure, like computer hardware and software, high speed scanners and printers at the field authority level and at ASKs. The necessary upgradation is the responsibility of the Pr.CCIT of the region. For specifications on the hardware/infrastructure (PC, Bar code printer, Scanner etc) please refer to Sevottam Instruction No.8 vide F.No. Sevottam/DIT(S)-II/2016-17/5543 dated 23.06.2016 (Annexurc IV).
3.3 Training
3.3.1 Training of personnel for the delivery of tax payer services and redressal of grievances under the new TPS vertical with the roll out of revamped ASK module in the ITBA (e-Nivaran) shall be imparted from time to time by the Systems Directorate.
4. Functions of Directorates of Tax Payer Services and the field authorities in the new system
4.1 Considering the objectives for delivery and monitoring of tax payer services as outlined in the above stated Board’s order, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) defining the roles of different TPS Authorities for Delivery and Monitoring of Tax Payer Services is as under:
4.2 At the Board level, Member(Revenue & TPS) will oversee the delivery and monitoring of tax payer The Pr. DGIT (Admn. & TPS) will be responsible for the delivery and monitoring of TPS in the attached directorates of CBDT as well as field offices of Income-tax Department and will report to Member(Revenue & TPS), CBDT.
5. Functions of Director General of Income-tax {Admn. & TPS) in relation to Directorates of Income-tax (TPS-I & TPS-II) :-
(i) Coordinate and monitor the activities and working of the Directorates of Income-tax (TPS-I & TPS-II).
(ii) Scrutinise the publicity of the tax payer services delivery through ASKs and other TPS verticals.
(iii) Monitor the follow-up action relating to grievances and other tax payer services issues.
(iv) Coordinate with DGIT (NADT) , Nagpur for training needs of personnel posted in the taxpayer services (TPS) vertical.
(v) Any other function relating to delivery and monitoring of tax payer services.
5.1 Functions of Directorate of Income-tax (TPS)-I:-
S. No. | Function | Action Points |
1 | Coordination with the field TPS setup |
(i) Overseeing and co-ordinating all matters relating to grievances/issues pertaining to taxpayers failing within the jurisdiction of Assessing Officers across the country . |
2 |
Monitoring and Reporting |
(i) Effective monitoring and reporting mechanism for Tax Payer Services in field offices. As the ASK Centres operate under the Sevottam Scheme, the MIS generated through the Sevottam and for grievances through the e Nivaran would be used for the monitoring of the performance of the ASK Centres. |
3 | Publicity of tax payer services and Education of Tax Payers |
(i) Carrying out research and surveys on taxpayer satisfaction. |
4 | Training |
(i) Coordinating with the NADT and the RTis for training of Officers/officials in the TPS vertical in the field. |
5 | Miscellaneous | (i) Maintain effective co-ordination with Directorate of Income-tax (Tax Payer Services -II). (ii) Any other function relating to delivery and monitoring of Tax Payer Services. |
5.2 Functions of Directorate of Income-tax (TPS)-II:
S. No. | Function | Action Points |
1 |
(i) Educate taxpayers in respect of E- services
(ii) Deal with grievances of taxpayers relating to matters such as processing of returns of income, issue of refunds, demand verification, PAN, TAN, CPC-TDS related grievances
(iii) Co-ordinate with the Directorates under Pr. DGIT (Systems) including Centralised Processing Centre ITR, Centralised Processing Centre-TDS to ensure delivery standards of e-enabled Taxpayer Services.
|
(i) Coordinating with ADG (Systems)-3, CIT(CPC-ITR) and CIT(CPC- TDS) to provide access on real time basis to the respective portals for the feedback on their functionalities and accordingly educating the tax payers about the e-services (ii) The following agencies/ sources will also be used for the collection of the feedback:- |
Coordinating with Directorate of Systems regarding instructions for monitoring of grievances and setting of timelines for various actions to be taken by the Directorate of Systems |
(i) To prepare timelines for various e-services actions to be taken in consultation with the Directorate of Systems. |
|
3 |
Provide tax payer feedback to Directorate of Systems for development of new methods of providing services to taxpayers through apps and mobile telephony , SMS alerts etc |
Study the established mobile telephony based apps and SMS and give suggestions to the Directorate of Systems for improvements/changes. |
4 |
Coordinate with Directorate of Systems for effective functioning of the National Call Centre (NCC) of the Department (Telephone No .1961 |
To devise feedback mechanism in coordination with Systems Directorate regarding Grievance Pattern and caller satisfaction and suggest steps to optimize the usefulness of NCC |
5 |
Prepare monthly reports regarding E- services and grievances relating to E-services and put-up a consolidated report to Member (Revenue and Tax Payer Services) on a quarterly basis through Pr. DGIT (Administration and Tax Payer Services) |
Compilation and consolidation of various MIS escalated by the ITBA and put-up a consolidated report to Member (Revenue and Tax Payer Services) on a quarterly basis through Pr. DGIT (Administration and Tax Payer Services) |
6 |
Maintain effective co- ordination with Directorate of Income Tax (Tax Payer Service-I) |
Maintain effective co-ordination with Directorate of Income-tax(Tax Payer Services – II) |
7 | Misc. | Any other function relating to delivery and monitoring of E-Services. |
6. Role of field authorities in the Tax Payer Services Vertical
6.1 Functions of Principal CCIT with multiple CCsIT Charges and role of CCIT for charges with single CCIT having multiple Pr. CsIT :-
S. No. | Function | Action Points |
1. | Administration of TPS setup |
(i) Ensuring time bound delivery of tax payer services within the timeframe given in the Citizen’s Charter, 2014. • for conducting Internal Audit of the ASKs as per the requirement of the Service Quality Manual (SQM) for BIS certification of the ASKs. (iii) Ensuring that Internal Audit and Management Review at the local level is conducted twice in a year, one for the period April-September and second for the period October-March. Processing proposal for upgradat ion of infrastructure at the ASKs and field Offices as required for the new computerised Grievance Handling System (e-Nivaran) |
2. |
Implementing e-Nivaran |
(i) Monitoring the status and disposal of grievances/ Citiz Charter/Others generated through ITBA (e-Nivaran) MIS. |
3. | Monitoring and Reporting |
(i) Monitoring the progress of disposal of communication/grievances Citizens Charter/Others (DAK) through ASKs on a fortnightly basis. |
4. | Publicity of tax payer services and Education of Tax Payers |
(i) Carrying out publicity regarding the tax payer services being rendered through the ASKs/E-Nivaran/CPC- ITR etc. |
5 | Training |
(i) Ensuring that adequate training is provided to all concerned officers/staff posted in the TPS vertical for efficient tax payer services delivery |
6 | Misc. |
Any other function relating to delivery and monitoring of Tax Payer Services. |
6.2 Functions of CIT (Admn. & TPS):-
S. No. | Function | Action Points |
1 | Administration of TPS setup |
(i) Ensuring that an ITO(TPS) is made in charge of the ASK in each of the ITO Buildings in the region |
2 | Implementing e-Nivaran |
Providing upgraded infrastructure at the ASKs and field Offices as required for the new computerized Grievance Handling System (e-Nivaran) |
3 | Monitoring and Reporting |
(i) Ensuring that the records of Management Review at unit level, training records , internal audit results/follow-up action and records relating to corrective and preventive action is maintained. |
4 |
Publicity of tax payer services and Education of Tax Payers |
(i) Taking taxpayer services initiatives and holding regular camps disseminating information regarding taxpayer services being rolled out by the Department. |
5 | Training |
Ensuring that training is provided to all concerned officers/staff in coordination with the Directorate of Income-tax TPS-I and the RTIs |
6. | Misc. |
Any other function relating to delivery and monitoring of Tax Payer Services. |
6.3 Functions of Pr. CIT/CIT designated as Nodal Officer for the ASK Centre.
S. No. | Function | Action Points |
1 | Monitoring of the functioning of the ASK in the ITD building |
(i) Ensuring that the ASK in the lTD Building is functioning as per the Service Quality norms. |
2 | Role in revamped ASK Module in ITBA (e-Nivaran) |
(i) Ensuring that the front desk(FD) and back desk (BD) employee to have employee number, name based email id and RSA token . |
6.4 Functions of Addl./Jt.CIT(HQ&TPS):-
S. No. | Function | Action Points |
1 | Monitoring and Reporting |
(i) Monitoring the progress of disposal of communications/grievances/ Citizen’s Charter/Others through ASKs on a weekly basis. |
3 |
Publicity of tax payer services and Education of Tax Payers. |
(i) Ensuring that taxpayer feedback proforma are placed at the ASK Centres to enable taxpayers and other stakeholders to give their feedback. |
4. | Training | Ensuring that the personnel posted in the ASKs are regularly sent for training modules organized by the Directorate of Systems. |
5. | Misc. |
Any other function relating to delivery and monitoring of Tax Payer Services |
6.5 Functions of ITO(TPS)
S. No. | Function | Action Points |
1 | Administration of TPS setup |
(i) Ensuring that communications /grievances/ Citizen’s Charter/Others (DAK) received through ASKs are disposed within the timeframe given in the Citizen’s Charter, 2014. |
2 | Role in revamped ASK Module in ITBA (e-Nirvana) |
(i) Grievances/Citizen’s Charter/Others in the revamped ASK module m ITBA being rolled out shall be entered and processed as per the ITBA/ASK-User-Manual (Annexure-IV) |
3 | Monitoring and Reporting |
(i) Monitoring the progress of disposal of communications /grievances/Citizen’s Charter/Others (DAK) through ASKs on a daily basis. |
4 | Publicity of tax payer services and education of Tax Payers |
Ensuring that taxpayer feedback proforma are placed at the ASK Centres to enable taxpayers and other stakeholders to give their feedback |
5 | Training |
Carrying out training need analysis of the staff deputed in the ASKs and reporting it to the Addl./Jt.CIT(HQ &TPS) |
6 | Misc. |
Any other function relating to delivery and monitoring of Tax Payer Services |
6.6 Functions of Assessing Officers in the TPS Vertical and with the rollout of revamped ASKs module in ITBA
S. No. | Function | Action Points |
1 | Processing and redressal of
grievance |
(i) Taking appropriate remedial action and resolving the grievances/ Citizen’s Charter/Others assigned in ITBA (e-Nivaran) received at ASK centres within the time provided in the Citizen’s Charter or the time specified in the module. (ii) Ensuring that manual grievances received in their offices are entered in the ITBA (e-Nivaran) module alongwith scannmg and uploading of the grievance application or other supporting documents received with the gnevance. (iii) Transferring grievances/ Citizen’s Charter/Others not pertaining to the AO to other stakeholders viz. CPC-ITR, CPC-TDS etc. after entering reason or remarks in ITBA (e-Nivaran). (iv) Regularly monitoring the status of the disposal of the grievances/ Citizen’s Charter/Others in the e-Nivaran MIS and reporting to the superior authority in the heirarchy. |
(Vatsalaa Jha)
Add I.Director General of Income-tax
(Taxpayer Services-I, CBDT, New Delhi