Tax collection should be smooth: President Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind has said that tax collection should be a smooth process and there should be minimum discomfort to the tax-payer.Addressing a group of probationers of 67th batch of Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) who called on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan yesterday, Mr Kovind advised them to remember what Chanakya had said about tax collection in the Arthashastra that a government should collect taxes like a honeybee, which collects just the right amount of honey from the flower so that both can survive.

He said, collection of revenue is critical to the task of nation building as the revenue collected by the officers is used for the development of the country. The President said that in a sense the young officers would drive Goods and Services Tax which is one



of India’s biggest economic reforms since independence.

He stated that this is the age of globalization and technological advance and it throws up enormous opportunities for trade and investment. The President said, it also unfortunately creates avenues for fraud and money laundering.

Mr Kovind said, Officers have an important role in promoting economic activity and to curb fraud. He said that, the work the Officers do has implications for India and for India’s reputation in the world as a trusted business destination, with a fair and predictable tax regime.

The President told them that their integrity is not negotiable and a credible tax system can only be built by credible tax officers.