Nagpur: The inaugural function for the Orientation Programme “Uttarayan-2017” for the newly promoted ACsIT was held at National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT), Nagpur on Monday, 22nd of May, 2017. Justice Bhushan Pradyumna Dharmadhikari, Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench, Nagpur was the Chief Guest for the occasion and Prof. (Dr.) Vijender Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur, was the guest of honour. As many as 190 newly promoted Assistant Commissioners of Income Tax are undergoing their Orientation Training of eight weeks at NADT before being posted to field formations to serve the country as tax administrators.
At the outset, in his welcome address, Rang Nath Jha, Principal Director General, NADT, welcomed the Chief Guest and the Guest of Honour. He said that the tax collection is a complex responsibility. It is necessary for governance and development as stated by Chanakya in his celebrated work ‘Artha Shastra’ – ‘Kosha moolo dandah’ i.e. revenue is the backbone of administration. He recalled that in a judgment, the SC has said that tax is the cost of civilization. Jha called upon the officer trainees to work fearlessly and to ensure at the same time that there is no harassment to the genuine taxpayer.
He expressed the hope that the Orientation Programme would equip the officers with enough skills and perspective to work efficiently in their new role as the Assistant Commissioners of Income Tax.
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Sarita Kumari, Addl. Director & the Course Director of Orientation Programme, Uttarayan-2017, presented the batch profile. She informed that the batch comprises 190 officers including 33 lady officers. The batch represents 22 States and 1 Union territory. The maximum number of trainees is from West Bengal followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Bihar, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Hindi is the mother tongue of most of the officers. The batch comprises 109 graduates, 55 post-graduates, 11 engineers, 7 law graduates, 5 MBAs, 1 M.Phil, 1 Ph.D. and 1 Chartered Accountant. The average work experience of the batch is 24 years.
Leena Srivastava, Addl. Director General (Training), NADT, presented a brief overview of the Orientation Programme. She stated that the purpose of the training is to prepare the officer trainees for their new role and challenges as tax administrators. As the officers have already work experience of several years in the Department, course content during the eight weeks of training is specifically designed to focus on areas, which the officers trainees have not been exposed to. She informed that besides classroom sessions, the course curriculum includes various field attachments including Bharat Darshan study tour, village visit and International attachment. She informed that during the training emphasis would be laid on providing thorough insights in areas of digital forensics, data analysis and different advanced accounting software. Inputs will also be provided in soft skills, change management, gender sensitization, administrative functions, macroeconomic policy, public finance, security market, investigation, international taxation and transfer pricing etc. She further informed that the NADT has partnered with Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur to provide inputs to officer trainees on allied laws. She expressed hope that the trainees will have substantial take-aways from the Orientation Programme.
Thereafter, Nausheen J Ansari, Addl. Director General (Training)-2, NADT administered oath to the officer trainees.
The guest of honour, Prof. (Dr.) Vijender Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur, stated that administrators are not born, they are made. He pointed out that the whole purpose of the training is to upgrade the understanding of the participants. He exhorted the officer trainees to come out of the shell and think out of box. He advised the officers to be taxpayer-friendly. While recalling that the Govt. is the biggest litigant, he advised the officers to design their orders in such a way that it negates tax litigation so that the rate of disclosure goes up and the number of litigants reduce.
The Chief Guest, Justice Bhushan Pradyumna Dharmadhikari, Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench, exhorted the officer trainees to adopt a balanced approach while discharging their duties. He stated that while passing orders, the officers must keep in mind the proverb that says “justice should not only be done but it should be shown to have been done.” He stated that the order passed by an officer reflects on the personality of the officer. He stated that every order passed must holistically deal with all contentions of the affected party and should be comprehensive enough in terms of facts as well as law. He exhorted the officer trainees to abide by their oath and discharge their duties without fear or favour.
Seema Pramod, Associate Course Coordinator conducted the proceedings while Dr. Surjit Saha, Associate Course Director, proposed the formal vote of thanks.
