Cabinet Secretariat Expands DPG Jurisdiction to Income Tax and CBIC (Customs)

The Cabinet Secretariat has expanded the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Grievances (DPG) to include matters related to the Income Tax department and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). This means that citizens can now approach the DPG with their grievances against these key revenue departments. The DPG serves as a high-level body for the redressal of public grievances that are not resolved at the departmental level. This expansion of its scope is a significant move towards enhancing accountability and improving taxpayer services. It provides taxpayers with an additional, independent forum to raise their concerns about issues like delayed refunds, administrative inefficiencies, or harassment. This is expected to create pressure on the tax departments to be more responsive and to resolve taxpayer issues in a more timely and fair manner.