It refunds. Success story & practical hints

[sujy40]

dear all,

I would like to share my experience of getting IT refunds which had been pending for 10 Assessment Years ie from1996-97 till date by using the RTI Act. I am indebted to this website for the information provided without which the refunds would not have marerialised. During the process i have gained insights which i would like to share with all members.

Numerous representations and meeting IT Dept officers yielded no results. After seeing this website I filed an application under the RTI Act. Information regarding status of my refunds was denied by the ITO(Income Tax Officer) under Sec 8 (1)(j) stating that info sought was of a personal nature and was not inthe larger public interest. The letter also stated that the application would be treated as a Grievance petition and action taken expeditiously.

I filed an appeal against this to the First Appellate Authority on the following grounds . I based my reasons for appeal on a judgement given by the delhi High Court which i found on this website and is reproduced below.

] Judgement of HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
in WP(C) No. 3114/2007 decided on 03.12.2007 :

“………As is reflected in its preambular paragraphs, the enactment seeks to promote transparency, arrest corruption and to hold the Government and its instrumentalities accountable to the governed. This spirit of the Act must be borne in mind while construing the provisions contained therein. Access to information , under Section 3 of the Act, is the rule and exemptions under Section 8, the exception. Section 8 being a restriction on this fundamental right, must therefore is to be strictly construed. It should not be interpreted in manner as to shadow the very right itself.”

I also gave the following grounds for my appeal.

1.denial of information by the PIO (public Information Officer ) amounted to denial of justice of a genuine grievance.
2.Transparency was lacking since no reason whatsoever was given for the inordinate delay.
3. the IT Dept and and its instrumentalities had not been accountable to the governed.
4. The letter of the law was being followed while the spirit of the law was being ignored.
5. This went against the High Court judgement qouted above.
6. The assessing officer had failed in carrying out one of his main functions which is to ensure that all taxpayers grievances are attended in time and redressed in a fixed time bound manner.


Within 20 days of the appeal cheques for the entire amount of approx Rs 3 lakhs were received by me in Regd Post/Speed post letters.

To strengthen my arguement, I had included following details downloaded from the IT Dept's website :
.

EXTRACTS FROM CITIZENS CHARTER (IT Dept Website):

WE BELIEVE :-
ØIn transparency and fairness.
ØIn encouraging and assisting taxpayers
WE AIM :-
ØTo redress/dispose off a complaint /grievance within two months from the end of the month of its receipt.


Functions of Assessing Officers . (Extract from IT website)

No 3 &4 are relevant.
(1)
1.Allotting PANs wherever required

2.Making IRLA operational and ensuring that all demands are entered into this system

3.Seeing that all tax payers grievances are attended in time and redressed in a fixed time bound manner

(1) 4. Ensuring timely collection of demands and issue of refunds.

5.Selection of cases for scrutiny in time and ensuring their timely disposal

6. Controlling all computer hardware and software of the range and ensuring its maintenance replacement and updating. Providing technical support
and guidance for operation of the computer system.

(1) 7.Taking all necessary steps for widening of the tax base.

(1) 8. Internal Audit functions.

9.Ensuring that appeal effects are given and central scrutiny
(1)reports are submitted in time.

10.Statutory functions.
St
(1)I would advise following steps to ensure refunds materialise quickly :

STEP I . Forward a grievance petition to the ITO where the IT Return has been filed. Wait for 60 days. This 60 day gap is required since IT dept has stipulated 60 days as time by which grievance petitions are to be disposed off.If no response-go to STEP II.

STEP II. File an application under RTI Act to concerned PIO (Public Information Officer ). Usually it is the ITO of the concerned ward Where the IT Return has been filed. Make sure to state at the end of the application " If you are not the concerned officer, please forward it to the concernrd officer in accordance with Sec 6 (1) of the Act. If no reply for 30 days, file an application to the first Appellate Authority . If info sought is denied under Sec 8 (i)(j) then also appeal to First Appelate Authority stating grounds which i have listed earlier. Download forms available in this website for filing applications as these forms are comprehensive and the PIO cannot wriggle out on techncalities.

The refund will materialise.

Happy hunting.

Col S V Sundar

[ganpat1956]

Colonel Sir, this is really great. Thank you for your kind words about our portal. Your succcess story enthuses us to work even harder.

[Atul Patankar]

Congrats, colonel sir, on your success and on patience you have shown of waiting for refunds for 10 years without going for 'other means'

The idea of quoting from PA's citizen's charter and website is quite interesting. The PA can hardly deny its own Citizen's Charter.

What I really want to know is, did the good ITO provide any reply to RTI query?

[karira]

After several experiences reported by members on this portal, I have made a draft RTI application for pending IT refunds and it is available as a link at the end of this post.
Kindly go through it and suggest any changes, based on your experience.

[jps50]

I am happy my blog on section 8 which contained judgement of Delhi High Court could be useful to you. Congrats.

Sir, following links will be of interest to you:

Pending:
http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/blogs/...ding-govt.html

IT Refund:
http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/blogs/...ax-refund.html

[sujy40]

I am spreading the good work this portal is doing to all my friends & family. Hope to add at least 10 members by end July.

Col S V Sundar

[sujy40]

Dear Mr Shah, Thank you for the blog and the High Court Judgement quoted there which was instrumental in my being able to fight my case and succeed.
Rgds
Col S V Sundar

[sujy40]

Dear Shri Atul,
No reply has been given on info sought though refunds have been received. But I am following it up and insusting on a Hearing.

[sujy40]

Dear Kariraji,
I have gone through your RTI Application for IT Refunds drafted by you and used it for filing my application and appeal. It is an excellent effort. No changes, only following suggestions :
1. it is advisable to file a Grievance petition first, wait for 60 days and then file an application under the RTI Act. That is because the IT Dept website itself stipulates a time frame of 60 days to dispose off grevance petitions.
2.While filing the application under the RTI Act, it is advisable to mention " If you are not the concerned officer, you are requested to forward it to the concerned officer under Sec 6 (1)) of the Act".
3. Draw attention to relevant portions of the Citizen's Charter and 'Main Functions of Assessing Officers ' given below : (Extract from IT Dept website)

WE BELIEVE :-
 In transparency and fairness.
 In encouraging and assisting taxpayers
WE AIM :-
 To redress/dispose off a complaint /grievance within two months from the end of the month of its receipt.
Main Functions of Assessing Officers :-
Seeing that all tax payers grievances are attended in time and redressed in a fixed time bound manner.
Ensuring timely collection of demands and issue of refunds.

Thanks for the assistance provided by your very useful post.

Col S V Sundar

[avinash_m28]

Hi: I have checked the RTI application format (word file) and am quite impressed. The way it is prepared ..gives no escape to PIO on the contrary...it covers all everything. Just a small suggestion / addition but wherever appliacble only....In case of PAN migrations, one can include >> if the refund is delayed due to pan migration....date and time of pan migration request generated and response received / not received on such request. From various telephone calls received by me, i understand that .....server synchronization is still buggy in IT servers. Perhaps server managing people at Jhandewala New Delhi need to look into it. Regards, avinash murkute