Come July, most income tax-payers start getting butterflies in their stomachs. It is the season for paying self-assessment tax and filing income tax returns for the ‘previous year’. Even the most meticulous tax-payer will spend sleepless nights till the process is completed successfully. No doubt, the various tax reforms implemented over time by zealous Finance Ministers and conscientious income tax authorities have made the process comparatively simpler; but the inherent anxiety and tension remain despite the well-meaning reforms and technological advancements initiated by the Income Tax department.
I recently spent a few sleepless nights while attempting to pay the tax due and file my income tax return. The very professional chartered accountant who helps me in filing my income tax return every year had worked out the exact “self-assessment tax” payable. A simple affair, he assured me. But when I logged on to the website, horror of horrors, I found that it had an entirely new format. Technology-averse as I am, the changes, though meant to make the process easier, was itself a bad start so far as I was concerned. I went through the guidelines and directions thoughtfully provided by the tax department to guide uninitiated ones like me and checked each and every item displayed on the new site. Needless to say, reading the fine-print itself was an arduous task. Finally, I took courage in both hands and began the payment process step by step as indicated. All was fine except that when I completed the payment, and complimented myself on the task accomplished, the whole website, which was till then openly inviting, disappeared abruptly, leaving no clue whatsoever. The shock redoubled when I received two messages; one from the Income Tax department that the payment had failed, and the other from my bank informing me that the payment was successful!
Then started the wait for ‘status update’, which to my anxious mind, seemed eternal! I called the bank’s customer service which advised me that the transaction was successful and that I should wait for some time. The tax website, which, incidentally, looks very elegant with divisions and sub-divisions of tax terms, continued to feign ignorance of the apparently lowly payment that I had made. However, to my relief, a consoling statement boldly displayed on the site that “if the amount is debited from your bank account, and the status is not yet updated, please wait till bank reconciliation, which takes time” gave me some hope.
The wait was, no doubt, painful. But I realised it was also because of my fear of technology. I still fondly recall the time when one could walk into a bank and pay the tax through a simple cheque and be done with it. The option may still be available, but the lure of technology and the convenience of paying the tax while sitting at home was surely inviting.
The innovations of the tax authorities, such as the information system which captures all tax-related data and information based on PAN, are really helpful, provided one knows how to make use of them. For a layman, even simple terms such as “previous year” and “assessment year” could be Greek and Latin! Worse, the realisation that even slight deviations in the submitted form from the data entered on the management information system will result in the likely rejection of the submitted tax return will cause additional uneasiness. But one has indeed to live with it, since, as Benjamin Franklin astutely pointed out, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.”
It is, of course, mere fantasy to dream that a day will come when a bold and non-conformist Finance Minister will defy William Pitt who introduced income tax (in Britain) in 1799, and abolish the tax altogether; a tax-free domain as is the case in most West Asian countries! What a great day it will be for all of us with no income tax to pay and no tax returns to file!! A pipe dream, no doubt!!
With the help of my chartered accountant friend, who checks every item in the return with a toothcomb, I have finally filed my tax return for the year! I am so relieved; I can sleep peacefully tonight.
thayyil_sethumadhavan@yahoo.com
