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Income tax employees across the country will boycott the official Income Tax Day celebrations on July 24, as part of an escalating protest against what they term the "persistent apathy" of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) toward their pressing concerns.
The Joint Council of Action (JCA), representing the Income Tax Employees Federation (ITEF) and Income Tax Gazetted Officers Association (ITGOA), announced a series of agitation programs that will intensify over the coming weeks, potentially disrupting tax administration operations nationwide. The protest will begin with demonstrations on July 23 at all Principal Chief Commissioner/Chief Commissioner/Principal Commissioner stations across 18 regions. "The chronic indifference of the administration towards our pressing issues has compelled us to initiate this protest," stated the JCA in a letter to CBDT Chairman dated July 21, 2025.On July 29, JAF has planned for half-day dharnas and demonstrations at all major tax offices and suspension of all reports except those for Parliamentary questions and court orders. There will also boycott of outreach programs and non-participation in official meetings, both physical and virtual and black flag demonstrations if CBDT members visit field offices.According to the JCA from 5 to 7 August, there will be extended daily dharnas and a complete halt to search and survey operations, including TDS surveys and a full-day walkout on August 8. The JCA highlighted multiple unresolved issues affecting 97% of the department's workforce. The recent Annual General Transfer (AGT) orders issued on July 16 have "aggravated prevailing discontent" by ignoring deserving cases involving genuine compassionate grounds. The long-standing practice of transferring officers back to home regions after cooling-off periods has been "abruptly discontinued."Delays in the overdue Cadre Review and Restructuring exercise continue to cause "acute stagnation" across Group C and B cadres. A committee report on career progression for non-IRS cadres reportedly ignored JCA proposals.Multiple promotion and regularisation issues remain unresolved, including regularisation of Assistant Commissioners (2024 batch) pending with UPSC for over six months, Ad-hoc promotions in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh regions, All-India Income Tax Officer seniority list preparation delays and non-financial upgradation issues for 2008-2011 batches. Employees have also raised concerns about "frequent and duplicative requests for data and reports" with "artificial deadlines" that disregard statutory time limits. The reorganisation of Junior Assessment Officer charges, created during the faceless assessment scheme implementation, remains pending despite repeated requests. Despite ambitious plans for digital platform upgrades including Taxnet 2.0, ITBA 2.0, and other systems, the JCA criticised the lack of matching hardware and software support. "Over a thousand newly promoted Income Tax Officers are being forced to work without departmental laptops," the letter stated. The protest comes despite the recent reappointment of the current CBDT Chairman, which had "created a lot of expectation among the fraternity." However, the JCA expressed that "our anticipations were belied" by the recent transfer orders and continued delays in resolving long-pending issues. (ANI)
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