I-T offices set to pamper crorepatis

Mumbai: Come October 1 and instead of dull old buildings, swanky tax offices would welcome corporates when the first large tax payer unit (LTU) rolls out in Bangalore, reports Economic Times.

The one-stop shop for large taxpayers who pay more than Rs 10 crore in corporate tax and Rs 5 crore in excise or service tax through the personal ledger account in ’04-05 would be greeted by dedicated hip-hop executives in the LTUs.

One dedicated officer would function as a point-of-contact for the corporate just as it is done in advertising agencies where an account executive handles all matters of the client he looks after. Similarly, just as an account executive interacts with other departments depending on the problem faced by the corporate, the dedicated tax official will guide the company in all tax issues it may face.

The LTU concept is part of the finance ministry’s plans to provide a hassle-free atmosphere for India Inc to discharge their tax obligations, and in the process encourage a higher rate of compliance.

Also, when a corporate signs up for LTU, all its units, irrespective of their location, would have the facility to file their returns at one place. The only exception would be in cases involving central excise, where certain functions involving physical presence of the department would continue to be performed by the local tax commissionerates, as a measure of facilitation to the trade.

As per the rules that have been run in, only those companies can join an LTU, which are at present assessed for income and corporate tax in any of the five cities of Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata.

So far 33 corporates have signed up for Bangalore, though the response has been lukewarm in Mumbai. The finance ministry may bring about certain changes in the excise rules to facilitate the transfer of excess excise or service tax credit of a taxpayer from one of his unit to another.

Coinciding with the roll out of the first LTU, the automation of the central excise and service tax department will also be initiated.