NEW DELHI: The government has sacked another 21 “corrupt” tax officers, continuing its crackdown on errant officials, finance ministry sources said on Tuesday.The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) compulsorily retired 21 Group B officers of the rank of Income Tax Officer under Fundamental Rule 56 (J) in the public interest, due to corruption and other charges, sources said.
The Rule 56(J) of Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 provides for periodical review of the performance of government servants with a view to ascertain whether they should be retained in service or retired in public interest.Sources said the officers retired in the latest round included three in the Mumbai office of the CBDT and two in adjoining Thane district. Other officers sacked were posted in Vishakapatnam, Hyderabad, Rajahmundry, Hazaribag in Bihar, Nagpur in Maharashtra, Rajkot in Gujarat, Jodhpur, Madhopur and Bikaner in Rajasthan, and Bhopal and Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
More than half of the officials retired were those arrested by the CBI for allegedly receiving illegal gratification.One of them was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000. One official allegedly had over Rs 20 lakh in cash in his bank locker, while an officer in Thane had acquired immovable and movable assets worth over Rs 40 lakh in his and his wife’s name.
Since June, this is the fifth round of sacking of corrupt tax officials. With this, 85 officers, including 64 high-ranking tax officers, have been sacked. Of the high-ranking officers, 12 were from the CBDT.
Sources said the action was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort when he had said some black sheep in the tax administration may have misused their powers and harassed taxpayers, either by targeting honest assessees or taking excessive action for minor or procedural violations.
The Rule
The Rule 56(J) of Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 provides for periodical review of the performance of government servants with a view to ascertain whether they should be retained in service or retired in public interest.