Centralised System For Tax Notices, Communications And No Criminal Liability For Violating CSR Norms: FM Nirmala Sitharaman 

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi today (23 August), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that violations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) norms will not incur criminal liability.

This decision will allay fears of excessive government scrutiny of CSR spending after reports started doing the rounds that the government wanted to criminalise violation of CSR norms.

In another move that will help reassure companies against apprehensions of overreach by government officials, Sitharaman announced that a centralised system will be created for issuance of all tax-related communications such as notices, summons, etc.

The finance minister added that any communication by a tax official sent without a valid document identification number would be treated as ‘non-est’ (as if it did not exist).