The income tax department this year will randomly select for scrutiny about 1,50,000 assessees from a total taxpayer base of 30 million through a computer-generated software.

The new chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, PL Singh, told Business Standard that cases would now be identified through a non-discretionary and centralised method in line with the Vijay Kelkar task force's recommendations on the investigation and scrutiny of tax returns.

The department will then undertake a thorough investigation of the investments made by the assessees, the accretion to their assets, the expenses incurred by them, their savings, the nature of the transactions entered and the profits made.

"We have about 6,000 officers. Each officer can investigate about 200 cases," Singh said.

This year, 1,50,000 assessees were likely to be scrutinised and their cases would be pursued to their logical conclusion, he added.

If the income tax department unearths a  case of tax evasion, it will serve a penalty order and call upon the assessee to pay the tax due to the exchequer.

The assessee will, however, have the right to appeal against the income tax department's order before a tribunal.

The purpose of such a scrutiny is to induce fear among taxpayers and deter any evasion.

Singh said he would ensure that investigations were carried out properly. He would also see that superfluous demands were not raised and arrears collected.

He said he would also try to improve services for taxpayers and ensure speedy tax refunds. According to him, the department was working hard to ensure that assessees were paid refunds on time.

The department processed about 20 million returns between January 10 and February 28 this year and 4 million assessees had already been issued refunds, he added.

Singh said the CBDT would meet its direct tax target of Rs 95,569 crore (Rs 955.69 billion) in the current fiscal, provided there were no natural calamities and international trade equations did not worsen. "In 2002-03, we exceeded the revised estimates by about Rs 1,000 crore," he said.

Scrutiny statistics

• The IT department will randomly select the assessees from a total taxpayer base of 30 million through a computer-generated software.
• Nearly 6,000 income tax officers will investigate about 200 cases each.
• The CBDT has set a direct tax target of Rs 95,569 crore for 2003-04.