Karnataka - Bangalore

`Be smart, savvy and customer friendly'

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram wants employees of Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) of the Central Excise and Service Tax to be smart, savvy and customer friendly.

He said a major attitudinal change was required among employees. The taxpayers must be treated with respect and offered tea or coffee in the office.

Interaction

Among the employees, men should wear ties and women saris. Friendly interaction with clients would enhance the reputation of the department, he said.

While appreciating the arrangement of the new office of LTU in the JSS Towers at Banashankari here, Mr. Chidambaram said the state of the toilets reflected the quality of a building.

He told the officials to make arrangements to keep the toilets clean. Drinking water and seating arrangements should be made for visitors to the office, he said.

He told the LTU employees to allow only those people having identity cards inside the office.

Discipline

"The office should not become a market place," he said. Only those people who had work in the office should be allowed to enter the building.

Mr. Chidamabram listed out five principles to employees: trust clients and verify their tax returns; treat clients with respect; be smart and customer friendly; maintain cleanliness; and time bound decision making.

The clients at the office will be offered e-filing of Excise, Service Tax, Income Tax/ Corporate tax returns; electronic filing of documents; and interactive web portal to enable taxpayers to access any information on the functioning of LTU, he said.

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