The Income Tax department has launched a drive with the aim of bringing one crore new taxpayers under its net, after the government recently asked the taxman to achieve the target within the current fiscal.

As part of government's initiative to broaden the tax base, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy making body of the I-T, this week activated all field formations of the department to achieve the goal with the Pune region being given the maximum target of bringing in over 10 lakh new assesses.

The order issued by the CBDT has laid down region-wise targets. Maharashtra's second largest urban centre Pune leads the list with the target of over 10.14 lakh new assesses, north western states comprising Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana over 9.30 lakh new assesses, and the newly bifurcated states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will have to contribute 7.93 lakh new taxpayers.

Similarly, Gujarat region has been given a target of getting more than 7.86 lakh taxpayers, Tamil Nadu over 7.64 lakh, West Bengal and Sikkim over 6.91 lakh, and Mumbai region 6.23 lakh assesses. The target for the national capital has been set at 5.32 lakh new assesses.

The tax department has a total of 18 regions in the country for purposes of collection of revenue under the major heads of I-T, Wealth Tax, and advance tax for large entities like corporates.

The Board has also communicated to the taxman that it should adopt a multi-pronged strategy to achieve this 'not-so-easy' target by holding meetings with trade associations and professional bodies and obtaining data on under-reporting assesses through technical and human
intelligence.

The strategy in this regard was mooted and formally launched in May this year when CBDT told the income tax department about the government's desire to have at least 25 lakh new assesses each month from across the country. (Hindustan Times)