8.2 Powers and Functions of the Authorities

The tax officer's powers (the catalogue): Summons and examination: calling persons, examining on oath; Entry, inspection and search: of business premises; inspection of books, records, stocks; Access to information: bank and third-party information within the law's gates; Assessment and reassessment: determining the tax — within limitation, after notice and hearing (the quasi-judicial mode); Penalty imposition: the culpability ladder (negligence, gross neglect, fraud — Unit 10); Collection and recovery: demand, instalment, the coercive machinery — seizure and sale of assets, third-party collection (the charge's enforcement); Refund and credit administration: verifying and paying what is due back. The control mechanisms within the administration (the powers' counterweights): Hierarchical review — superior officers' revision and the departmental appeal layers; Limitation windows — assessment, reassessment and collection must fit the time bars; Reasoned orders — the quasi-judicial function demands reasons; unreasoned orders fall on review; The constitutional audit — the Auditor General's audit of revenue administration; Transparency instruments — taxpayer charters, service standards, published procedures and directives; The external watchers — the CIAA's jurisdiction over corruption in the revenue service; parliamentary committee scrutiny of revenue performance. E-governance (the modern face): online PAN/registration, e-filing of income tax and VAT returns, e-payment through the banking interface, e-invoicing in VAT, the taxpayer's portal account — effects: compliance cost falls, data completeness rises (invoice matching becomes machine work), audit…