President Murmu urges smooth, taxpayer-friendly tax collection for nation-building

President Droupadi Murmu urged Indian Revenue Service officers to ensure tax collection is smooth, transparent, and technology-driven. Highlighting GST reforms, she stressed fairness, innovation, and citizen-friendly systems as crucial for economic growth, entrepreneurship, and nation-building

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said that the tax collection should be a smooth process with minimum discomfort to the taxpayer.

Addressing the officer trainees of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes), who had called on the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, she asked them to create systems that are transparent, accountable, and technology-driven.

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Murmu said the collection of revenue is critical for nation-building. “This is the revenue that funds infrastructure, education, health, and social welfare. You are, therefore, active participants in India’s nation-building process. But, the tax collection should be a smooth process with minimum discomfort to the taxpayer,” the President said.

Please remember what Chanakya in the Arthashastra said about tax collection – “a government should collect taxes like a honeybee, which collects just the right amount of honey from the flower so that both can survive”, she said while addressing them.

The President said that the recent Goods and Services Tax reforms introduced in September this year represent a landmark step in reshaping India’s taxation system.

“These reforms are designed to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship, job creation, and affordable living. These reforms strengthen India’s vision of inclusive growth, sustainability, and empowerment of the next generation,” Murmu said.

She asked the officers to ensure that taxation serves as a bridge of trust and fairness, and not as a barrier. “As a revenue service officer, you will perform multiple roles — as administrators, investigators, facilitators of trade, and enforcers of law. You are the sentinels of India’s economic frontiers, protecting the country against smuggling, financial fraud, and illicit trade, while simultaneously facilitating legitimate commerce and global trade partnerships,” Murmu said.

The President said that their role demands a delicate balance between enforcement and facilitation; between upholding the law and enabling economic growth. She asked them to create systems that are transparent, accountable, and technology-driven.

“Integrity and fairness must remain the cornerstone of your professional conduct. The young officers are expected to be innovative, analytical, and technologically adept. I urge you to embrace data-driven decision-making, automation, and digital governance to make tax administration more efficient and citizen-friendly,” Murmu said.

She also asked them to constantly upgrade their knowledge and adapt to rapid changes in global trade, technology, and economics. “You are an important part of our ongoing journey toward making India, a developed nation by 2047. You have an integral role to play in realising the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ by providing a stable, fair, and facilitative tax ecosystem that encourages entrepreneurship, compliance, and investment,” the President added.