It is sad that while tax authorities are strict about collecting taxes from the people, they do not refund excesses collected with the same promptness and rigidity. It seems that the administrators of the law focus only on those provisions of the IT Act that bring in revenue.

Not often do we see authorities making use of section 245 of the IT Act to refund the excess tax collected.

The Act should be suitably amended to allow refunding to be initiated by the taxpayer himself if the authorities remain oblivious. This is perhaps one of the best ways through which the government can restore people's confidence in the IT machinery.

S. Sairam

Chennai

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