Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG) to cover cases related to taxation

 

1.  Background:
Till now complaints involving tax were handled through appellate mechanism under statue/ escalation to jurisdictional tax officers and also grievance monitored through the Centralized Public Grievance Redress & Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). These complaint lodged with the CPGRAM have to be resolved within 21 days.

2.  New grievance mechanism:
Cabinet Secretary has notified on June 16th that grievances pertaining to the Income Tax Department and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) have been brought under the jurisdiction and oversight of the Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG), an entity within the Cabinet Secretariat.

3.  What is the aim?
The DPG oversight aims at obtaining responses to unresolved grievances on matters relating to identified Central government departments and organisations in a time-bound manner.

4.  Who Can Approach the DPG?
You can approach DPG if:

You’ve already complained to the tax  department but got no fair reply.

There is inaction or excessive delay in refunds, order passing, or duty drawback.

You face harassment or unreasonable demands by tax officials.

5.  Legal Basis and Govt Guidelines
Cabinet Secretariat Order No. 43011/19(s)/2014-Coord.

Complaints must relate to individual grievances only — policy questions or court matters are outside its scope.

Recent SC and HC cases have recognized DPG’s role in ensuring administrative accountability.