CBDT warns Income tax officers

New Delhi Dec 2 :In a move to ensure that people are not harassed in the name of scrutiny the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has warned the taxman against undertaking "roving or fishing" inquiries in the name of scrutiny assessments and asked them to scrupulously adhere to its guidelines.

The Department has asked the assessing officers to not travel beyond the issue and not to randomly or unauthorisedly expand the scope of a limited scrutiny procedure.

Currently, Income Tax department has powers to open a scrutiny assessment of the assessee under the law and the procedure entails submission of a number of documents and hearing between the two sides in cases of suspicion of tax evasion.

The CBDT has said that "it only brings less than one percent of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) or cases under the rigorous scrutiny procedure in a given assessment year, either full or limited."