I-T dept asks officials to use official email IDs
The Income-Tax (I-T) department has directed all of its officials to use official email IDs for all official communication. Moneylife had raised the issue of I-T officials sending mails to taxpayers using IDs from free email service providers like Gmail and Yahoo!.
In a circular, issued on 27 September 2013, the Directorate of I-T, has said, "Since official IDs are available with most of the Departmental Officers, it is instructed that hereinafter all official communication(s) on mail shall be only through the official email IDs detailed above. In the event that an official email is required to be sent urgently and the official email ID not available, the official IDs of the Commissioners of I-T (CsI-T) or Directors of I-T (DsI-T) may be utilised for the same.
As Moneylife pointed out one of the I-T officers sent a reminder to a wealthy individual to pay his advance tax in time and send details to his Gmail email address.
Here is the circular issued by the I-T department...