New I-T criminal probe wing to toe US model

Team to visit America to study & adapt system; newly created agency has wide-ranging mandate on search & prosecution. The newly created directorate of criminal investigation (DCI) in the income tax (I-T) department is to adopt the functioning and strategies of its American countyerpart, the criminal investigation wing of that country’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A group of senior income tax officials would visit the US soon to study the IRS framework and practices in this regard. “We would study the IRS model and accordingly create a system which will suit the Indian context. We will concretise it and present it before CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) for approval,” said a senior I-T department official. He added that DCI’s primary role would be to handle cases involving money generated through illegal means such as bribery, smuggling, narcotics and terror funding.

Source : Business Standard