TAX BOARD TO BE MERGED WITH REVENUE BOARD

Jaipur: The Rajasthan government is going to wind up the Tax Board in Ajmer and merge it with the Revenue Board. Going forward, all tax-related cases and disputes will be handled by the Revenue Board. Preparations for this merger are almost complete and it is believed that the process of bind-up and merger will be completed in the new year. The combined entity will be called the “Revenue & Tax Board”.

It has been informed that since the implementation of the GST system, commercial tax cases have ceased to be submitted to the Tax Board. Currently, only cases related to mines, transport and excise are pending and the total number of these cases has dwindled to just three thousand.

There is no justification or need to maintain a separate institution with a chairman, members, and a staff of around 50 people for just three thousand cases. The separate expenses amounting to lakhs of rupees are placing an unnecessary burden on the state treasury.

For several years, the government has assigned the role of Chairman of the Tax Board to the Chairman of the Revenue Board. Currently, Hemant Gera holds both positions. The reality is that the Department of Personnel (DoP) struggles to find a separate Chairman for the Tax Board, as no senior IAS officer is willing to go to Ajmer for the role of Tax Board chairman.

However, in September 2021, Naveen Mahajan and then in April 2022, Ajitabh Sharma were sent to Ajmer Tax Board as a punishment posting by the then Congress government. The government was annoyed with both these senior IAS at that time.

Sources say that Ajitabh Sharma had made an all-time record of disposal of Tax Board Cases during his tenure as Chairman, but it is said that the then government did not like this performance because he did not give many decisions according to the government. Ajitabh was then called back to Jaipur within four months.

An interesting incident regarding the Chairman is worth noting. In May 2023, Mahendra Kumar Parakh, a 2010 batch promotee IAS, was appointed as Chairman by the DoP. For the first time, lawyers did not approve of appearing in the court of such a junior IAS. At that time, the Chairman’s court had not yet been started. Parakh was removed after five months upon his retirement.

Another interesting case is of T. Ravikanth (1997 batch IAS officer). He was Secretary Finance (Revenue) in July 2021. He was also given additional charge of Chairman of the Tax Board. Administrative experts criticized the DoP’s decision as inappropriate and impractical. As a result of these objections, T. Ravikanth did not go to Ajmer to take up the Chairman’s position, leaving the chair vacant for two months.

It has been informed that now under the new system, two members knowledgeable in tax matters will be separately appointed in the Revenue Board. They will set up their court in the office of the Board of Revenue under the Chairman. These members will be senior officers of the Commercial Tax Department.