The Directorate of Commercial Taxes is the major revenue earning Directorate of the state of West Bengal. This Directorate is responsible for collecting indirect taxes under various Acts like the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, the West Bengal Value Added Tax Act, 2003, the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994, the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 to name a few, along with rules thereof. Head Office of this Directorate is located at 14, Beliaghata Road, Kolkata-700015.

Hierarchy:

The Directorate of Commercial Taxes, West Bengal is headed by the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes. Below the Commissioner, there are Special Commissioners, Additional Commissioners, Senior Joint Commissioners, Joint Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners and State Tax Officers to assist the Commissioner.

Charges - A Charge is a unit office of the Directorate. There are 67 Charges in West Bengal. Usually a Charge is headed by a Charge Officer, who can be a Joint Commissioner or a Senior Joint Commissioner. A Charge Officer is assisted by Officers under him, who look after groups of taxpayers. Officers posted in the Charges are entrusted with the power of examination of books of accounts of the dealers and to make assessment of taxes payable by them, as also to realise dues.

Circles - Administratively, the Directorate is divided into 16 Circles. A Circle is headed by a Special Commissioner, or an Additional Commissioner. He is supported by an Administrative Senior Joint Commissioner and other officers, down to Charge level and Assistant Commissioners. They exercise Administrative, Appellate and Revisional Jurisdiction over the Charges under them.

Large Taxpayers’ Unit - To facilitate the revenue administration of the largest taxpayers of the State, a dedicated unit called Large Taxpayers’ Unit has been formed. It is headed administratively by a Special Commissioner.

Bureau of Investigation - There are 4 units of Bureau of Investigation, geographically, which carry on anti-evasion work of the Directorate. Each unit is headed by a Special Officer of the rank of a Special Commissioner or an Additional Commissioner.

Certificate Organization - The C.O. under the Directorate is entrusted with the function of realising dues from Certificate Debtors.

Range Offices - There are nine Range Offices at various places within West Bengal. Officials posted there are engaged in mobile checking of vehicles transporting goods. The Ranges have supervisory control over the check posts.

Profession Tax Range and Unit Offices - There are five Profession Tax Ranges in Kolkata and four Profession Tax Ranges in the districts. Twenty-three Profession Tax Units operate in the district under the appropriate Range Offices.

Public Services:

This directorate renders public services by collecting due tax through administering the following Acts –

• The Goods and Services Act, 2017
• The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994
• The West Bengal Value Added Tax, 2003 (on limited items only which are not subsumed under GST)
• The Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (on limited items only which are not subsumed under GST)
• The West Bengal State Tax on Profession, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1979
• The West Bengal Primary Education Act, 1973. (for the limited purpose of Education Cess)
• The West Bengal Rural Employment and Production Act, 1976 (for the limited purpose of Rural Employment Cess)
• The West Bengal Transport Infrastructure Development Fund Act, 2002
• The West Bengal Sales Tax (Settlement of Dispute) Act, 1999

GOODS AND SERVICES TAX - POLICY PLANNING UNIT [GST-PPU]

History of Indirect Taxation in India has witnessed the most unprecedented change with the introduction of Goods and Services Tax with effect from 1st of July 2017. The existing system of indirect taxation in India was characterized by multiplicity of taxes and duties. This included Central duties and taxes like Central Excise Duty, Additional Excise duty, CVD (Counterveiling Duty), SAD (Special Additional Duty), Service Tax, Central Sales Tax and State taxes like VAT, Entertainment Tax, Luxury Tax, and Entry Tax which have been subsumed in GST.

GST Policy Planning Unit was set up in the Directorate by the Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, West Bengal vide Order number 4159-CT dated 27/04/2017 under the Office of the Commissioner, Commercial Taxes with the objective of successful implementation of GST in the state of West Bengal.

IT Infrastructure

Information Systems Division (ISD) has been the backbone of Directorate of Commercial Taxes in West Bengal for implementation of e-Governance in various aspects of indirect taxes. The ISD, as the internal Information Technology (IT) wing of the directorate, plays key role in maintenance and upgradation of IT infrastructure and implementation of new e-services. With the introduction of GST, ISD now provides the basis on which the entire Directorate functions.

ISD has been a catalyst in rolling out the citizen-centric/business-centric services with a view to reduce the cost of compliance and enhance the ease of doing business in the State of West Bengal. The uninterrupted and untiring efforts of ISD was recognised when the Directorate won several awards for success in e-Governance initiatives viz. CSI Nihilent Award, National e-Governance Award, SKOCH Award, Golden Peacock Award, etc in previous years.

All the offices are connected with the Central Data Base maintained in the Headquarters of this Directorate through LAN and WAN.

All offices have access to the Internal Website containing internal information and communication, as well as the GST Back Office portal, for their day-to-day activities under GST. The Directorate has its internal modular application called IMPACT which helps the officer to perform all statutory obligations.

This Directorate has its own official website www.wbcomtax.gov.in.

Training Facilities

The H.R.D. Cell of the Directorate has been successfully guiding, facilitating and training a huge number of personnel working in our Organization and sensitizing them about the different laws particularly the GST Act 2017, W.B. VAT Act, 2003 and the R.T.I. Act, 2005 which are of prime importance in the present scenario.

The thrust of in-house programmes is generally placed on the Induction Training of officers, for overall qualitative improvement in the work culture of this organization. In addition, In-Service Training programmes for employees down to the level of Lower Division Clerks are also undertaken. Each training programme includes extensive discourses on Statutes, Workshops, Case Studies, Group Discussion and Interactive Sessions. In certain cases great emphasis is laid on solving problems.

Helpdesks

The Directorate has established a central help desk to mitigate issues for taxpayers. In addition to that, there are helpdesks at each Charge. There are dedicated help lines (033)71221000 and (033)71221222 and 1800 121 0060 (toll-free) as well, which are manned during office hours. An e-Grievance system is also in place to redress grievances.

Relevant Acts

• The West Bengal Value Added Tax Act, 2003.
• The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994.
• The Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.
• The West Bengal State Tax on Profession, Trades, Callings and Employment Act, 1979
• The West Bengal Primary Education Act, 1973 (for the limited purpose of education cess).
• The West Bengal Rural Employment and production Act, 1976 (for the limited purpose of rural employment cess).
• The West Bengal Sales Tax (Settlement of Disputes) Act, 1999.
• The West Bengal Transport Infrastructure Development Fund Act, 2002.