IBBI organises awareness programmes for Income Tax Department officers

As part of the ongoing ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ festivities, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) organised a series of 18 virtual awareness sessions on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) for personnel from the Income Tax Department from August to November 2021.

The set of programmes targeted officers from 18 regions, each led by a Pr. CCIT from the Income Tax Department. The Income Tax Department nominated around 900 officers at and above the level of ITO (Income Tax Officer) to participate in these programmes.

The programmes addressed deliberations on several provisions of the Code, such as moratorium, filing of claims, resolution plans, and the Code’s interface with the Income Tax Act of 1961, among other things. During the programmes, the rights, roles, and responsibilities of Income Tax Department personnel as significant stakeholders in various processes under the Code were discussed. Various case laws and Apex Court judgements, particularly those relating to the extinguishment of claims in the event of their delayed or non-submission during the resolution process, and post-settlement adherence to the “clean slate” idea, were also thoroughly explored.

This series of programmes was preceded by a series of 46 awareness programmes performed by the Board at various Income Tax Department offices around the country during fiscal year 2019-20. The programmes are expected to raise knowledge about the rights of government officials and the effects of approved settlement plans on such debts in order to support better Code implementation.