Vigilance Commissioner J.M. Garg has called for protecting honest, upright and bonafide officers in tax collection bodies to promote greater transparency in the system and weed out corruption. Addressing a seminar organized by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, CBEC, in New Delhi today, Mr Garg urged the officers to become leaders in their areas of work by acting objectively in their daily affairs. He said guilty officers must be quicky exposed and brought to book. He called for discouraging the misuse of vigilance as a tool to harass and victimize officers. Mr Garg said simplification of tax laws is a welcome step as such laws are subject to different interpretations which hinder tax collection.
Speaking on the occasion, Revenue Secretary Sumit Bose said genuine decision makers must be fully protected to create an enabling system which thrives on transparency, accountability and honesty. He asked field officers to adopt zero tolerance in cases related to misuse of official power and take on the spot action against the guilty and corrupt.