J&K Bank is planning to open Business Facilitation Centers at all the districts for startups and existing MSME businesses to promote inclusion in formal economy thereby enabling credit flow from banks. The said centers will also create awareness about financial discipline and facilitate the filing of Income Tax Returns by the businessmen across the districts.J&K Bank Chairman and CEO Parvez Ahmed made these remarks today as the Chief Guest at a function ‘Celebration of Income Tax Day’, which was organized by the Income Tax Department, Srinagar here at the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) Rajbagh.The function was presided over by the Chief Commissioner, Income Tax Department (Amritsar), Narender Singh. Those present on the occasion included Assistant Commissioners IT department Bashir Ahmad Bhat and Manzoor Ahmad Shah, President Income Tax Bar Association Nazir Ahmad Shikari, members from Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), legal fraternity, Chartered Accountants and tax professionals.“I find a lot of semblance in our journey and yours as we have also been on the path of Transformation. The center of our business process re-engineering is also the ease and hassle-free service to people at the click of a button. Both Banking Institutions and Income Tax Department are important stakeholders in the overall financial ecosystem of the country. We both have grasped that valuable principle of evolving continuously is by embracing change”, Parvez Ahmad added.
On the occasion, Chairman lauded the role played by IT Department while operating in the challenging situation in the state, Parvez Ahmed said, “In the context of J&K, While I stand here representing a taxpayer Corporate, I must admit that the department with a facilitators attitude is working harmoniously with the taxpaying entities in J&K with least incidents of the policing approach which is a big positive for the society in J&K at large which is having its own set of challenges.“And it has indeed been a great honor for me to be here today in the company of Chief Commissioner Narinder Singhji. We hope that we can explore more possibilities of associations and interactions in the future as well.”During the occasion, the Chief Commissioner IT Department felicitated the Chairman by presenting a memento amid a round of applause from the audience.Earlier in his presidential address, Chief Commissioner Narinder Singh spoke in detail about the need of paying taxes voluntarily to the government.He said, “People need proper roads to travel, hospitals for healthcare, educational institutions, courts to dispense justice and other such organizations for various public welfare issues. And to do all this government needs money which comes from different kinds of taxes. Income Tax is one of these. So if we really want to avail the best public facilities for our socio-economic well-being we must pay our taxes readily and fully.”
“The purpose of celebrating this day is to meet the people and listen to their problems and devise means and ways to solve those. It is an occasion to communicate the rules and laws of taxation besides conveying the paradigm shift in the entire process from tax calculations to tax collection made hassle-free and easy by the use of technology”, he added.Highlighting the importance of J&K for the IT Department, Chief IT Commissioner said, “J&K is a special concern for our department and we always want to make it hassle-free and harassment-free for all taxpayers in the state. J&K will soon have an Additional Commissioner besides a separate Commissioner Income Tax (Appeals). We have extended our total support to the state during last floods and shall continue to do the same in times of need.”The function concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Income Tax Officer Srinagar Dharmendra Singh.Notably, the practice of celebrating July 24 as Income Tax Day started in 2010 when the Income-tax levy became 150 years old. It was in July 1860 when the first Income Tax Act was introduced by James Wilson who became (British) India's first finance member. And the purpose of celebrating this day is to propagate the significance of paying the tax and creating awareness among the public.