Justice (Retd) R V Easwar, who heads a high-level committee on income tax laws, today said the panel is looking into aspects of accountability of tax officers.

The 10-member panel had in January this year submitted its first report.

Some of its members, including Easwar, were here to meet industry representatives, before finalising the second report due in October.

“The first report was submitted in January and it was received well. The second report, which is due in October, is to deal with many other substantive provisions of the income tax laws,” Easwar told a gathering organised by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“As we move from place to place meeting people, I am able to see the urgent need for accountability on the part of tax officers. And this is something on which we are exercising our mind. From now onwards, I think we should focus more on accountability aspects, and hopefully after discussions and deliberation, something will come out,” he said.

Dhinal Shah, who headed the panel of chamber members that made its submission, said while the Centre is moving in the right direction at the policy level, as far as simplification of direct tax is concerned, it is yet to reflect at the ground level.

The January report called for an across-the-board hike in the threshold limits for TDS and halving of withholding tax in most cases.

It also suggested levying lower short-term capital gains tax on annual earning of less than Rs. 5 lakh from trading of shares and not treating it as business income, among other recommendations.