Patna, April 13: Star ratings in Bihar will not be confined to just hotels.
The government is planning to identify the highest tax-paying dealers and businessmen in the state and rate them accordingly. Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi announced this today during the annual review meeting of the commercial taxes department. The department is among Modi’s portfolios.
“In Bihar or anywhere in the country, there are certain parameters according to which hotels are rated or starred. The government will go one step ahead. The dealers and businessmen paying the highest taxes will be given star ratings. A plan is being prepared,” Modi said.
A scheme aimed at encouraging dealers to pay the required taxes will also be announced soon, he said. “There is a scheme under which tax-paying businessmen are given certificates. It will be revised. The government plans to provide them monetary rewards too.”
Aiming at a tax collection of at least Rs 14,000 crore for the 2013-14 fiscal, he emphasised on the need for an online scrutiny of returns filed, with more stress on computerisation of the records.
A team from his department would soon visit Maharashtra to study the system of data warehouse and data mining with respect to computerisation of tax returns there so that it can be implemented in Bihar.
“The department has done a commendable job when it comes to computerisation. In the 2012-13 fiscal, the total tax collection rested at around Rs 11,000 crore; this year the government aims at raking in more. With the online scrutiny of tax returns, businessmen and traders would be at ease too. The scrutiny cannot be done manually because of the vast amount of data. The department will start with the next phase of computerisation,” he said. Under the data warehouse and data mining system, figures are organised systematically and can be accessed at the click of a mouse.
Modi also announced that a three-month drive would be started soon to emphasise on the need for every trader and businessman to have PAN (permanent account number) cards.
