Udupi: The office of the Principal Commissioner of Income-Tax (PCIT) at Mangaluru was merged with that at Goa recently. The office served the taxpayers of the Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts.
Now, after the transfer, taxpayers will now have to go to Goa office for any tax-related work.
Many in the twin districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada are blaming their elected representatives for being lackadaisical over the issue.
On August 13, the Union Finance Ministry had similarly ordered the Hubli PCIT office to be shifted to Goa's PCIT office. The elected representatives from Hubli had appealed to Union Minister Prahlad Joshi to retain the PCIT office. Joshi contacted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and requested the cancellation of the relocation order after which the order was cancelled.
The twin districts taxpayers are now questioning why couldn't Mangaluru's representatives do the same?
The number of taxpaying entities and individual taxpayers in Mangaluru is more than double that in Hubli. There are about 4 lakh taxpayers being covered by the Mangaluru office.
Many complain that already the coastal districts are deprived of many government projects and facilities. If the local representatives do not act then even this office will be lost for sure.
"The PCIT office should be retained in Mangaluru. There are 4 lakh taxpayers in the twin districts. In Goa, there are hardly 1 lakh taxpayers. Therefore, if needed the Goa office can be merged with the PCIT office in Mangaluru. We have already made an official appeal to representatives here."
- Srikrishna Rao Kodancha and Isaac Vaz, Presidents, Canara Chamber of Commerce, Udupi & Dakshina Kannada Districts
