The Finance Minister’s Award 2022 presentation ceremony was held by the Income Tax Department at Kedarnath Sahni Auditorium, Civic Centre, Minto Road, Delhi.  Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs conferred the awards on the selected officers and officials of the Department in the presence of Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for Finance and Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Union Minister of State of Finance. Shri Nitin Gupta, Chairman, CBDT and other Members of CBDT were also present on the occasion.  

The awards were presented to the officers and officials who have contributed to promoting excellence in the field of Direct Taxation by their innovative ideas and special efforts as well as commitment to duty.

In her keynote address, the Union Finance Minister, congratulated the winners and expressed best wishes to many others in the Department who have been excelling in their work. Smt. Sitharaman complimented the CBDT for formulating these awards as a performance incentive to keep the workforce motivated. The Finance Minister appreciated the department for bringing in the faceless system despite the challenging Covid pandemic times and adapting to changed work pattern smoothly. The FM also lauded the department for its focus on adoption of technology to collect taxes in a non-discretionary manner.  Smt. Sitharaman appreciated the growth in direct tax collection and hoped that the momentum in revenue collection would continue to be sustained.  

The Finance Minister further urged the Department to focus on 3 R’s namely

1. Returns- i.e. To process income tax returns quickly and systematically.
2. Refunds-i.e. More efficient and speedy issue of refunds.
3. Redressal of Grievances-i.e. Special attention be given to expeditious redressal of grievances. Hon’ble FM also desired that a dedicated week for disposal of grievances be observed between 2^nd to 31^st of Oct 2022 in the true spirit of Swachhta Abhiyan. Hon’ble FM hoped that the department would keep up the good work and continue to amplify it’s use of technology to augment revenue collection necessary for welfare state.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for Finance, congratulated all the award winners, observing that it is a recognition of their hard work and innovation. He noted that these awards are a celebration of the commitment of the employees of the Department towards nation-building. Shri Chaudhary thanked the Finance Minister for being the guiding force behind such initiatives. Noting that the income tax department had undertaken large scale reforms such as use of artificial intelligence and faceless schemes which have resulted in increase in voluntary compliance as evidenced in increase in filing of return etc. he urged the department to continue with its thrust on reforms in line with changing times. He also appreciated the department for maintaining a balance between tax enforcement and taxpayer facilitation.

Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Union Minister of State of Finance, in his address, while congratulating the winners of the Award, observed that winning the award is the culmination of their hard work and dedication. Dr Karad also lauded the Income Tax Department for having taken this initiative, noting that though the COVID-19 pandemic created many hurdles, it is heartening to see such celebrations being held again. Hon’ble Minister of State stated that the Department has evolved and adapted itself seamlessly to needs of the times. He observed that department is continuously upgrading its systems and procedures, by using AI, faceless scheme etc. He commended the department for transforming itself to a people centric organisation. He hoped that the department would continue to be an efficient instrument for mobilizing resources for the Government and realising the Prime Minister’s vision of a $ 5 trillion economy and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Shri Nitin Gupta, Chairman, CBDT welcomed the dignitaries on behalf of the Income Tax Department. He informed the gathering that in the recent past, the Department has undertaken several initiatives to bolster its human resources like capacity building and mentoring to support and guide our employees. The Finance Minister’s award scheme is one such initiative undertaken under the able guidance of the Finance Minister to instil enthusiasm among the employees of the Department and boost their morale. He explained that the awardees are chosen after a rigorous selection process, noting that it is a multi-layered selection process whereby the contribution made by the potential candidates is assessed on various quality parameters and standards of service. The objective of the Award is to give due recognition to employees who have made exceptional efforts and contributed significantly in the diverse areas of Direct Tax Administration. He also gave an overview of the achievements of the Income Tax Department in the growth registered in the direct tax collections and the reforms undertaken by the Department easing compliance, facilitating taxpayers and further improving taxpayer services. 

The Award ceremony ended with a vote of thanks proposed by Sh. Rajat Bansal, the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, New Delhi.  He thanked Smt. Sitharaman for gracing the occasion, for inspiring with her words of wisdom and conferring the awards on the awardees. He also thanked all the other dignitaries present on the occasion.

Performance incentive awards recognise innovation in tax administration and reinforce tech-driven faceless assessment and grievance focus. The Finance Minister's Award scheme operates as a performance incentive recognising officers for innovative contributions to direct tax administration after a multi-layered selection process assessing quality and service standards. The Department emphasises technology-including a faceless system and artificial intelligence-to achieve non-discretionary tax collection, improve voluntary compliance and enhance taxpayer services. Operational priorities directed by the Finance Minister include expedited returns processing, faster refunds issuance and strengthened grievance redressal, reinforced by capacity building and a dedicated grievance-disposal week to accelerate resolutions.