Don’t hound taxpayers, Chidambaram tells officials

Finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram on Tuesday urged officials not to hound taxpayers, despite the pressure to meet the annual tax targets.

"We are not going to be regarded as a hounding tax administration," Chidambaram told reporters after a meeting with the top officials of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in New Delhi.

"We will be friendly to those people who are tax compliant and I believe the bulk of people pay taxes," he said, adding that a massive awareness campaign would be launched soon to increase tax compliance.

Chidambaram also said the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) will come under the scanner again.

In reply to a question, Chidambaram said: ''The DTC has gone through various versions ... I need time to look at the DTC. I am only 28 days old (in the ministry) ... it requires a fresh look.''

With this, it is highly uncertain whether the intended reforms in both direct and indirect tax laws by way of the DTC and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will roll out next fiscal.