TRAINING MANUAL

THE RIGHT TO
INFORMATION ACT, 2005

For purpose of guidance in training in

INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT
(updated as on 31st March 2006)

DIRECTORATE OF TRAINING
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DIRECT TAXES
CHHINDWARA ROAD
NAGPUR – 440 029
http://nadt.gov.in

(DISCLAIMER: THE CONTENTS IN THIS MANUAL DO NOT

REFLECT THE OFFICIAL VIEW OF INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT OR
GOVERNMENT INDIA. WE DO NOT UNDER TAKE
RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACCURACY OF CONTENTS/CHANGES NOT
UNDER THE CONTROL OF DIRECTORATE OF TRAINING BECAUSE
THERE IS LIKELIHOOD OF CHANGE IN NAMES, DESIGNATIONS,
POSITIONS ON VARIOUS ISSUES ETC.,)
TABLE OF CONTENTS

HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT...........................6

DUTY TO PROVIDE INFORMATION IS PART OF RIGHT TO
INFORMATION............................................................................................................7
INFORMATION RELATED TO PRIVATE BODIES.............................................7
CAMPAIGN FOR RIGHT TO INFORMATION......................................................8
COMMITMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT.............................................................8
II. PUBLIC AUTHORITY................................................................................................10
III. INFORMATION AND RIGHT TO INFORMATION.............................................11
WHAT IS INFORMATION.......................................................................................11
WHAT IS RECORD....................................................................................................12
FILE NOTINGS...........................................................................................................12
PRIVATE BODY.........................................................................................................12
RIGHT TO INFORMATION....................................................................................13
IV. OBLIGATIONS OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES - ACTION PLAN FOR
IMPLEMENTATION.......................................................................................................14
OBLIGATION OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES.........................................................14
RECOMMENDED ACTION PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION (NOT
RELEVANT NOW BECAUSE ACT IS ALREADY UNDER
IMPLEMENTATION)................................................................................................16
V. CPIO, CAPIO - ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES ...............................................17
STRUCTURE OF CPIOS/APPELLATE AUTHORITIES IN THE INTOME
TAX DEPARTMENT.................................................................................................17
STRUCTURE OF CPIOS/APPELLATE AUTHORITIES IN CENTRAL BOARD
OF DIRECT TAXES (F. NO. 402/9/2005-ITCC DATED 21-03-2007 FROM
CBDT) ..........................................................................................................................18
ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES & POWERS OF CPIO AND RECOMMENDED
PROCEDURE..............................................................................................................19
OBTAINING INFORMATION.................................................................................22
SUPPLY OF INFORMATION..................................................................................23
DECISION MAKING.................................................................................................24
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES OF CAPIOS....................................................25

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VI. APPELLATE AUTHORITIES – ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES ...................26
FIRST APPELLATE AUTHORITY.........................................................................26
SECOND APPEAL TO THE CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION......27
VII. EXEMPTION PROVISIONS - INTERPRETATION.............................................29
EXEMPTION BY PERSON.......................................................................................29
EXEMPTION BY CLASS..........................................................................................30
AN OVERRIDING FACTOR....................................................................................31
DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IN RETURNS OF INCOME – OPINION
OF MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE.....................................................................31
ANOTHER OVERRIDING FACTOR - PUBLIC INTEREST VIS A VIS
PROTECTED INTEREST.........................................................................................32
A NEGATIVE OVERRIDING FACTOR.................................................................32
DISCLOSURE TO BE IN MEANINGFUL MANNER...........................................32
WHEN IT CAN BE SAID THAT PUBLIC INTEREST IS SERVED...................32
OPINION OF MINSITRY OF LAW ON “PUBLIC INTEREST” AND RECENT
DECISIONS OF CIC..................................................................................................33
REQUESTS TO PROVIDE OPINIONS OR INTERPRETATION OF LAW OR
FACTS..........................................................................................................................33
MAINTENANCE OF REGISTERS AND RETENTION POLICY.......................34
DUTY OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION.................34
EXEMPTION NOT TO APPLY IN CERTAIN CASES WHERE A TIME GAP
OF TWENTY YEARS HAS ELAPSED....................................................................36
VIII. TIME LIMITS FOR SUPPLY OF INFORMATION ...........................................37
IX. FEE.............................................................................................................................38
X. PUBLICATION SCHEMES AND RECORD MANAGEMENT...............................41
MANDATORY PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION U/S 4(1)(B)......................42
......................................................................................................................................42
CATALOGUING AND INDEXING OF RECORDS U/S 4(1)(A)..........................42
RIGHT TO INSPECT IS ALSO PART OF RIGHT TO INFORMATION..........44
XI. PROACTIVE DISCLOSURE....................................................................................45
XII. CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTATION .............................................................46
KEY CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN THE IMPLEMENATION OF THE ACT
.......................................................................................................................................46
STEPS TO BE TAKEN FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACT ....................47

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 (SOME PORTIONS OF THE MATTER BELOW ARE NOT RELEVANT
BECAUSE ACT IS ALREADY BEING IMPLEMENTED)...................................47
XIII. RECOMMENDED FORMAT FOR FORMS AND APPLICATIONS.................48
1. FORM OF APPLICATION FOR SEEKING INFORMATION........................48
CHECK LIST FOR OFFICIAL USE........................................................................50
2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF APPLICATION...................................................50
3. INTIMATION OF TRANSFERRING THE APPLICATION TO ANOTHER
PUBLIC AUTHORITY (U/S 6(3) OF RTI ACT).....................................................51
4. NOTICE FOR PAYMENT OF FURTHER FEE ................................................51
5. INTERNAL QUERY FOR ELICITING INFORMATION................................52
6. REMINDER TO THE CONCERNED OFFICER...............................................53
7. ORDER FURNISHING INFORMATION (U/S 7(1) OF THE RTI ACT):.......53
8. NOTICE TO THE THIRD PARTY U/S 11(1) OF THE RTI ACT:...................54
9. ORDER OF REJECTION (U/S 7(1) OF THE RTI ACT): ................................55
10. ORDER OF PART DISCLOSURE (U/S 10(1) OF THE RTI ACT):...............55
12. FORM OF APPEAL TO BE FILED U/S 19(1) OF THE RTI ACT:...............56
XIV. MONITORING, REPORTING AND RAISING AWARENESS...........................58
MONITORING AND REPORTING.........................................................................58
AWARENESS PROGRAMMES AND USER GUIDES..........................................60
XV. FEATIRES OF THE RTI ACT 2005.................................................................61
DATE OF ENFORCEMENT: .................................................................................61
COVERAGE:...............................................................................................................61
MEANING:.................................................................................................................61
OBLIGATIONS OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY:.........................................................62
EXEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE:.....................................................................63
MEANING OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY:..................................................................64
EXCLUDED AUTHORITIES:..................................................................................64
THIRD PARTY:..........................................................................................................65
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS (PIOS):......................................................65
DUTIES OF PIOS:......................................................................................................65
APPLICATION PROCEDURE:................................................................................66
TIME LIMIT TO GET INFORMATION:...............................................................67
APPLICATION FEE:.................................................................................................67

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 GROUNDS FOR REJECTION:................................................................................67
APPELLATE AUTHORITIES:.................................................................................67
CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION:........................................................68
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:__________________________________________________________68
TERM OF OFFICE OF CIC:_______________________________________________________69
TERM OF OFFICE OF ICS:_______________________________________________________69
STATE INFORMATION COMMISSIONS:............................................................69
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:__________________________________________________________69
POWERS & FUNCTIONS OF INFORMATION COMMISSIONS:....................70
REPORTING PROCEDURE:...................................................................................71
PENALTY PROVISIONS:.........................................................................................71
PROTECTION FOR BONAFIDE ACTIONS AND JURISDICTION OF
COURTS:.....................................................................................................................72
ACT TO OVERRIDE OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT OR PROVISIONS OF ANY
OTHER LAW WHICH ARE INCONSISTENT WITH THIS ACT:....................72
ROLE OF CENTRAL/STATE GOVERNMENTS:.................................................72
RULE MAKING POWER:........................................................................................73
ANNEXURE – I : UN Principles On Freedom Of Information.....................................73
ANNEXURE – II: VIEWS OF COMMONWEALTH HUMAN RIGHTS INITIATIVE
ON RIGHT TO INFORMATION....................................................................................74
ANNEXURE – III: Text of PM's intervention in the Lok Sabha on the right to
information bill debate on May 11, 2005 New Delhi.......................................................75
ANNEXURE - IV: LETTER FROM DOM&S................................................................79
ANNEXURE - V: AUTHORITIES ENTRUSTED WITH RESPONPOSIBILITY OF
PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION u/s 4(1)(b) .........................................................89
ANNEXURE – VI: MODEL CATALOUGUE OF RECORDS/FILES RECOMMEND
FOR EACH AO/RANGE..................................................................................................91

5
 Chapter 1
HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF RIGHT TO INFORMATION
ACT

The dictum “Knowledge is Power” is truly applicable to the

modern world and information is the most important means to acquire
knowledge. Technology also places information at the center of
development. Therefore, in the contemporary world, right to
information is a key component in the realization of economic, social
and political rights of an individual as well as the community at large.

Failure on the part of the State to provide its citizens with access
to information is against democratic principles and their fundamental
rights. It is also necessary to ensure that our democracy is not merely
representative put participative. Right to Information Act (RTI Act
2005) which is effective from 12th October 2005 is a major step in
transition of our democracy from representative to participative.

Information in the possession of Government or its officers is not

an end in itself. The information belongs to the public and held for the
benefit of the public. Such information cannot be kept away from the
citizens in an unreasonable manner. Realizing this fact, General
Assembly of the United Nations, at its very inception resolved,
“Freedom of information is a fundamental human right and touchstone
for all freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated”. UN
principles on freedom of Information are contained in Annexure – I of
this manual.

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative propounds that the

right to access information underpins all other human rights. For
example, freedom of expression and thought inherently rely on the
availability of adequate information to form opinions. The realisation of
the right to personal safety also requires that people have sufficient
information to protect themselves. Quite simply, the right to
information is at the core of the human rights system because it
enables citizens to more meaningfully exercise their rights, assess
when their rights are at risk and determine who is responsible for any
violations. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative recognises
access to information as a right and its views are in Annexure – II to
this manual.

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 DUTY TO PROVIDE INFORMATION IS PART OF RIGHT
TO INFORMATION

The right to information holds within it the right to seek

information, as well as the duty to give information, to store, organise,
and make it easily available, and to withhold it only when it is proven
that this is in the best public interest. The duty to enable access to
information rests with government and encompasses two key aspects:
enabling citizens to access information upon request; and proactively
disseminating important information.

Therefore, right of information not only involves the right to seek

information but also casts duty on the public authority or its officers to
organize and make available information to the general public unless
disclosure of such information is detrimental to the public interest.
Proactive disclosure of information therefore becomes an integral part
of the right to information.

INFORMATION RELATED TO PRIVATE BODIES

The domain of right to information does not end just at the

government office. It extends in a way to private bodies also. For
instance, if a private organization or entity is managed through grants
or funds provided by Government, then public has every right to know
about the affairs of such private body or about the manner in which
the public funds are spent by such body. Similarly, if a factory is
releasing harmful effluents into the environment, public has every right
to know about the details of the discharge, its composition, methods of
hazardous waste management employed by the factory and also the
harmful effect that are likely to fall on the population due to the
discharge. Such information can be called for by Government
authorities from the factory and public also should be in a position to
call for such information in equal measure. Therefore, disclosure of
information about third parties and also calling for information related
to third parties becomes part of the right to information unless issues
likes trade secrets or trade competition are involved.

7
 CAMPAIGN FOR RIGHT TO INFORMATION

Though the Constitution of India does not explicitly grant a right

to information as a fundamental right, the Supreme Court in several
cases, particularly in the cases of Bennett & Coleman and S.P Gupta,
held that right to information is implicit in Article 19 (1)(a) and Article
21 of the Constitution. However, there was no specific legislation till
now to enforce this right. The present legislation owes its existence to
the commitment of the Government to the cause and also to the
movements of civil society groups. In India, States like Goa, Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,
Assam and Jammu & Kashmir already have their own Acts on right to
information.

COMMITMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT

The commitment of the Government to the cause of Right to

Information is clear from the intervention speech of the Hon’ble Prime
Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh in the Lok Sabha on the right to
information Bill on May 11, 2005. In his intervention, the Hon’ble
Prime Minister explained in detail, the reasons behind the introduction
of the Act. He stated that all power is a sacred societal trust. He also
said that the key to successful functioning of any democratic polity is
the ability of a citizen to observe and evaluate the functioning of
elected representatives and make an informed judgment on their
performance. This evaluation is predicated on the easy availability of
the necessary information for a citizen to arrive at an assessment. He
also stated that common man is at the center of an intricate web of
elaborate system of rights and obligations, a system of checks and
balances, a system with clear division of powers at different levels of
the Government further translated into practice by our laws,
procedures, policies and programmes. As stated by the Hon’ble Prime
Minister, it is the common man or common woman who is the fulcrum
of our democratic system, as an observer, as the seeker of
information, as the one who asks the relevant questions, as the
analyst and as the final judge of our performance. He stated that the
Government has made a commitment, not only to work for the welfare
of the common man, but also strengthen his or her role as the arbiter
of our destiny and the Right to Information Bill was introduced in the
Parliament in this context. The full text of the speech of the Hon’ble
Prime Minister is available at Annexure – III to this manual.

Keeping all the above principles in mind, The Right to

Information Act, 2005 (Act No. 22 of 2005) was passed by Parliament

8
4
of India and received Presidential assent on 15th June 2005. It is an Act
to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information
for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public
authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the
working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central
Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

*****

Chapter 2

9
 II. PUBLIC AUTHORITY

Public authority is the focus of attention of the Right to

Information Act. It has been defined in the Act in an exclusive manner
in section 2(h). Three categories of organizations are included in the
definition. These are “authority”, “body” and “institution of self-
government”. The qualification is establishment or constitution;

• by or under the Constitution;

• by any other law made by Parliament;
• by any other law made by State Legislature;
• by notification issued or order made by the appropriate
Government, and includes any—
 body owned, controlled or substantially financed;
 non-Government organization substantially financed,
directly or indirectly by funds provided by the Government;

Income Tax Department is a public authority. DOM&S has

issued a letter dated 10-08-05 vide F. No 50/1/2005-WS/DOMS
specifying who shall be the “public authority” in the Department. A
copy of this letter is available at Annexure – IV of this manual. As
per the recent decision of Central Information Commission in the
case of Er Sarabjit Roy (Complaint No. 10/1/2005-CIC – Order
dated 25-02-2006 – In the case of Er. Sarbajit Roy Vs CPIO, Delhi
Development Authority ), entire Department needs to be treated as
single public authority and hence once CPIO can’t transfer an
application before him to another CPIO in the Department u/s 6(3)
of the Act.

*****

Chapter 3

10
 III. INFORMATION AND RIGHT TO INFORMATION

The phrase “information” is defined in exclusive manner in

section 2(f) of the Act. Two meanings have been incorporated in the
definition. First, “any material in any form” and second, “relating to
any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under
any other law for the time being in force”. A little elaboration is
required on the word “material”.

WHAT IS INFORMATION

In the definition of information itself, “material” has been

incorporated in an inclusive manner but it has not been separately
defined in the Act. In its inclusive manner, it includes:

• records,
• documents,
• memos,
• e-mails,
• opinions,
• advices,
• press releases,
• circulars,
• orders,
• logbooks,
• contracts,
• reports,
• papers,
• samples,
• models and
• data material held in any electronic form

It is necessary to look into the wider meaning of the phrase

“material”. The Webster Dictionary defines “material” as:

• the matter from which a thing is or can be made

• items needed for an activity
• information or ideas for use in performance or other work

11
 WHAT IS RECORD

One of the basis of information is “records”. This word has been

defined in the Act in section 2(i) in an inclusive manner. “Records”
include:

• any document, manuscript and file;

• any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of a
document;
• any reproduction of image or images embodied in such
microfilm (whether enlarged or not); and
• any other material produced by a computer or any other
device;

The scope is vast enough to include almost anything under the

Sun.

FILE NOTINGS

The note sheets maintained in various files of the Department

may constitute information as “manuscripts”. It can also be argued
that they are integral part of the file itself. There was a debate on this
issue, as the FAQs available on the website of DOPT
(http://persmin.doc.in), stated that information does not include “file
notings”. But, the debate is settled now because Central Information
Commission in its decision in the case of Satya Pal (Appeal No.ICPB/A-
1/CIC/2006 – Date of order 31-01-2006 – Section 2(i) – In the case of
Satya Pal Vs CPIO, TCIL) held that file notings are part of the file itself
and would be part of information.

PRIVATE BODY

The second aspect of information relates to a private body. What

is a “private body” is not defined in the Act. It can be inferred from the
definition of “public authority” in section 2(h)(d)(ii) of the Act that any
non-Government organization which is not substantially financed,
directly or indirectly by funds provided by the Government shall be a
private body. Because, otherwise it shall become a public authority.
The ambit of private body is large enough to include any organization
of any form. However, for the purpose of information, only those
private bodies shall fall under the purview of the Act over which a
public authority under any law for the time being in force has the
power to access information. As an extreme situation, a citizen can
request for books of account of any organization, whether assessee or

12
not from the Income Tax Department. It is a different matter whether
the CPIO accedes to the request or not.
RIGHT TO INFORMATION

The citizens have been accorded right to information, which has

been defined in the Act in section 2(j). There are two basic
qualifications of this right to information. First, information should be
held by the public authority or should be under the control of the
public authority. Second, the information should be accessible. This
right also includes the right to:

• inspection of work, documents, records;

• taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or
records;
• taking certified samples of material;
• obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies,
tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or
through printouts where such information is stored in a
computer or in any other device;

This right can be exercised by any citizen by making a request

u/s 6(1) of the Act. The request may be in writing or through
electronic mode and in case the citizen is unable to make request in
above forms, the Central Public Information Officer is duty bound to
render reasonable assistance to reduce the request in writing. No
reasons are required to be specified by the applicant for seeking the
information. No personal details are required to be submitted by the
applicant except the minimum necessary to enable the Central Public
Information Officer to contact the applicant.

*****

13
 Chapter 4

IV. OBLIGATIONS OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES - ACTION

PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Chapter II of the RTI Act, 2005 casts certain obligations upon

every public authority.

OBLIGATION OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

The key obligations cast upon a public authority under the RTI Act are
as follows:

1. maintain all records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner

and the form, which facilitates the right to information.

The Authority shall also ensure that all records that are
appropriate to be computerized are, within a reasonable time
and subject to availability of resources, computerized and
connected through a network all over the country on different
systems so that access to such records is facilitated;

2. publish before 12-10-2005, items of information mentioned in

clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005.

It is envisaged that some of these items will be published

centrally. Reference may be made to F. No. 50/1/2005-
WS/DOMS dated 10-08-2005 issued by Director (DO&MS)
available at Annexure – IV of this manual.

3. publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or

announcing the decisions which affect public.
4. provide reasons for its administrative and quasi-judicial decisions
to affected persons.
5. make constant endeavor to provide information suo motu to
public at regular intervals through various means of
communication including internet.

The efforts should be such that public should have minimum

occasion to invoke the RTI Act, 2005 to seek information.

14
 The information shall also be disseminated in such form and
manner to enable easy access to the public.

6. make use of local language in wide manner in dissemination of

information to be supplied as far as possible free of cost or may
be at the print price.
7. designate CPIOs and CAPIOs.
8. collect and provide information to the Central Information
Commission for enabling it to prepare its annual report to the
Parliament.

The reports shall furnish details on

• number of requests made to the public authority,

• number of decisions where applicants were not entitled to
access of information and concerned rejection orders,
• number of appeals preferred to the Central Information
Commission,
• nature and outcome of such appeals,
• particulars of disciplinary action taken against any officer in
administration of the RTI Act,
• amount of charges collected by the authority,
• any facts which indicate an effort by the public authority to
administer and implement the spirit and intention of the Act
and recommendations for reform.
9. organize educational programmes for public, in particular, the
disadvantaged communities, promote timely and effective
dissemination of accurate information, train CPIOs/CAPIOs and
produce training material for use by the authority.
10. publish within 18 months of the passing of the Act, a user guide
for applicants, and
11. periodically publish details/directory of CPIOs and other
relevant information that will enable the dissemination of
information and enable proper administration of the Act.

Considering the above obligations, the following action plan is

recommended for CCIT/DGIT in charge of implementation of the RTI
Act.

(Disclaimer: This action plan is only recommendatory not

obligatory. Also, the action plan is not relevant now because
the act is already under implementation. Yet, the portion
related to action plan is retained in the manual because it was
part of the original version)

15
 RECOMMENDED ACTION PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION
(not relevant now because Act is already under implementation)
SNo Action to be taken Time Frame
1 Setting up machinery for monitoring and First week of September
report of progress of implementation 2005
2 Appointment of CPIOs/CAPIOs Preferably in second week of
September 2005 (Statutory
Limit is before 22-09-2005)
and forwarding the details to
DIT(Systems) for display on
the departmental website. A
copy shall also be marked to
DIT(DO&MS)
3 Creation of front office of CPIOs/CAPIOs Preferably before second
week of September 2005
4 Awareness programmes for all Officers and To start from first or second
Staff on general provisions and record week of September 2005
management
5 Establishing publication policy and First or second week of
publication schemes September
6 Preparation of lists of records, cataloguing Work should immediately
and indexing as per publication policy start because section 4(1) of
keeping in view section 4(1)(b) of the RTI the RTI Act, 2005 has
Act, 2005 already come into force.
7 Training of CPIOs/CAPIOs/front office staff Third week of September
2005
8 Printing of model applications for seeking First week of October 2005
information and establishing channels for
receiving information
9 Publications of names and details of Fourth week of September
CPIOs/CAPIOs through media 2005
10 Compilation of information about records First week of October 2005
which are needed to be catalogued and
indexed (to be readily available with
CPIO/CAPIO)
11 Amendment of running contracts with Work to be started
vendors and service providers to enable immediately
information disclosure as per RTI Act 2005
12 Constituting a core team of trainers to Work to be started
impart training to CPIOs/CAPIOs as well as immediately
officers and staff

16
13 Consolidated fortnightly Report to CBDT To be submitted every
fortnight Chapter 5
V. CPIO, CAPIO - ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES

The central role in dealing with the citizen-applicants under the

RTI Act has been assigned to CPIOs (Central Public Information
Officers) who have to receive applications, take decisions, collect and
supply information. The role of CAPIOs (Central Assistant Public
Information Officers) is to receive and forward applications/appeal
petitions.

Setup of CPIOs/Appellate Authorities in the Department is given

below.

STRUCTURE OF CPIOs/APPELLATE AUTHORITIES IN

THE INTOME TAX DEPARTMENT

S No Office CPIO Appellate Authority

Appointed as per the subjects dealt by the officers

1 CBDT
in CBDT. Details are in another table given below

2 Directorates Concerned DIT Concerned DGIT

attached to
CBDT
3 CCIT/DGIT Any officer working in the Concerned
Headquarters (for CCIT/DGIT
information related to O/o
CCIT/DGIT)
4 CIT/DIT CIT/DIT/CIT(A)/CIT(C) & Concerned
CIT(DR)-ITAT/ITSC CCIT/DGIT
ADG (Admn) for NADT
DGIT(Training),
5 NADT DsIT/CsIT of respective
NADT
RTIs for RTIs
6 Valuation DVOs Concerned
Wing CCIT/DGIT for
technical matters
and Controlling CCIT
for administrative
matters

17
 STRUCTURE OF CPIOs/APPELLATE AUTHORITIES IN
CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES (F. No.
402/9/2005-ITCC dated 21-03-2007 from CBDT)
S.No
CPIO Section Appellate Authority
1 US(TPL-I) TPL-I Dir.(TPL-I)
2 US(TPL-II) TPL-II Dir.(TPL-II)
3 US(TPL-III) TPL-III Dir.(TPL-III)
4 US(TPL-IV) TPL-IV Dir.(TPL-IV)
5 US(ITA-I) ITA-I Dir.(ITA-I)
6 US(ITA-II) ITA-II Dir.(ITA-II)
7 US(ITCC) ITCC Dir.(ITCC)
8 US(Budget) Budget DS(Budget)
9 US(OT) OT D.S(OT & WT)
10 US(WT) WT D.S(OT & WT)
11 U.S(Inv.I) Inv.I Dir.(Inv.I)
12 US(Inv. II & III) Inv. II & III Dir.(Inv.II & III)
13 ADIT(Prosecution) Prosecution OSD(Legal)
14 US(A & PAC)I A & PAC-I Dir.(A & PAC)
15 US(A & PAC)II A & PAC-II Dir.(A & PAC)
16 US(ITJ-I) ITJ D.S(ITJ)
17 US.(FT & TR-I)(I) FT & TR-I (I) Dir.(FT & TR-I)
18 US.(FT & TR-II)(I) FT & TR-II (I) Dir.(FT & TR-II)
19 SO(NC) NC D.S.(NC)
20 US(V & L) V&L DS(V & L)
21 US(Ad.VI) Ad.VI Dir.(Ad.VI)
22 US(DTP) DTP Dir.(Ad.VI)
23 US(Ad VIA) Ad.VIA Dir.(Ad.VII)
24 US(Ad-VIII) Ad-VIII Dir.(Ad.VIII)
25 US(Ad-VII) Ad-VII D.S.Ad.VII & IX)
26 US Ad.(IX) US Ad.(IX) D.S.(Ad.VII & IX)

2.For the RTI applications pertaining to (HQ) and Grievance section Dir.(HQ) shall be the CPIO and
CIT(C&S) shall be the Apellate Authority
3.In case the Under Secretary is not available or the post is vacant then the respective section Officer
shall act as CPIO. The respective JSs/CITs shall act as apellate authority in case DS/Dir. in charge
of the section is not available or the post is vacant.

Orders designating authorities in respect of directorates attached

to CBDT, offices of CCIT/DGIT, CIT/DIT charges, CsIT(A), CsIT(DR),
CIT(Central) and Valuation Wing shall be passed by the controlling
CCsIT/DGsIT under whose administrative control the respective
authority falls. In case of Directorate of Training, DGIT(Training),
NADT is the designating authority.

18
 At stations, where there is no CPIO, the controlling CCIT/DGIT
shall designate the senior most officer looking after the administration
as CAPIO.

After passing the orders, the concerned CCIT/DGIT has to send

the consolidated list of CPIOs/CAPIOs designated by him/her to
DIT(Systems) for display in the website of the Department and also
mark a copy to the Director (DO&MS).

The roles, responsibilities and powers of CPIO, CAPIO and

recommended procedure are discussed below.

ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES & POWERS OF CPIO AND

RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE

The following roles and responsibilities are assigned to the CPIO

in the RTI Act, 2005. In the following points, the situation to arise
before the CPIO has been visualized and his functions and
responsibilities have been clubbed in a flow form suggesting the
manner in which CPIO should deal with an application.

1. CPIO/CAPIO is duty bound to receive applications seeking

information under section 6 of the RTI Act (a note on what is
information is already available in Chapter 3)

CAPIO has only to forward applications received by him to

CPIO within five days of receipt and CPIO shall deal with these
applications.

CPIO/CAPIO cannot refuse applications even if they are

pertaining to or related to another public authority including
matters totally unrelated to Income Tax.

In cases of persons seeking information where the request

cannot be made in writing, the CPIO shall render reasonable
assistance to the person to reduce the same in writing.

2. CPIO has to verify whether the application is accompanied

by proof of payment of fees prescribed u/s 6(1).

In case of Below Poverty Line cases, no fees is payable u/s

6(1). CPIO should, wherever required, ensure payment of
fees before supply of information.

19
3. In case of applications where information is held by or can
be more appropriately dealt by another public authority, CPIO
has to transfer the application to the relevant CPIO within five
days of the receipt of the application and intimate the applicant
immediately.

Part of the application can also be transferred. For instance, if

an application requires information partly in relation to
Income Tax and the balance in relation to Central Excise then
the portion related to Central Excise shall be transferred to
the concerned CPIO of Central Excise. in cases where
information pertains to Income Tax but related to two or more
CPIOs within the Department, information related to the
respective portions related to other CPIOs shall be obtained
from them and supplied to the applicant.

4. If information sought pertains to the CPIO receiving the

application, he/she has to ascertain whether third party interest
is involved and whether the information is such which shall be
considered as confidential by that third party.

In such cases, before supplying information to the applicant,

the CPIO shall issue a written notice to the third party within 5
days from the receipt of the request.

In the said notice, third party must be given a chance to make

a representation either in oral or in writing before the CPIO
within 10 days from the date of receipt of such notice.

CPIO has to ensure fast service of this notice keeping in mind

the tight time limits, which are discussed, in subsequent
chapters of this manual.

In case, there is no response from third party or there is no

objection from the third party, the information can be supplied.
In such case, the time limit of 30 days from the date of receipt
of application does not get extended.

It is suggested that the process of obtaining information from

the concerned officer and the process of giving opportunity to
the third party should be initiated simultaneously to prevent
loss of time.

20
 In case, of any objection from the third party, the CPIO shall sit
in judgment over the objection of the third party and pass an
order of his intention (whether or not he intends supplying
information).

If the intention is to supply the information, this order shall be

served on the third party. This is an appealable order. The
information sought by the applicant shall be withheld till the
limitation time for filling appeal is over and third party has not
preferred appeal and in the alternative, if appeal has been filed,
the information is withheld till the finalization of the appellate
proceedings.

It is suggested that in all cases where there is objection from

third party, the fact should be communicated to the applicant.
Otherwise, the applicant will remain in dark about the fate of
his application and may even prefer filing appeal before
appellate authority or complaint before the Central Information
Commission. These rights are given by the Act to the applicant.

5. CPIO has to take a decision whether the information

sought is covered by exemption provisions u/s 8 or 9 of the RTI
Act (which are discussed in Chapter 7 of this manual). If any of
the provisions are applicable, information shall not be supplied
unless, the CPIO is of the opinion that it is in the larger public
interest to disclose such information or public interest in
disclosure of information overweighs the protected interests.

6. CPIO has to decide charging of any further fees u/s 7(3)

and/or charging of cost of supply of information u/s 7(5) of the
Act.

For charging further fees, CPIO has to issue notice to the

applicant giving the details prescribed u/s 7(3) including
working of the fees and basis thereof. This is an appellable
notice. Time intervening between dispatch of the notice and
disposal of appeal against the notice till payment of the finally
determined fees gets excluded from the limitation period.

Fees u/s 7(3) is payable even by applicants who are citizens

below poverty line.

21
 CPIO has to charge fees prescribed under section 7(1) or
7(5), if the information is sought in print format or electronic
form.

7. There can be cases where information sought pertains to

records, part of which falls under exempted category. For
instance, a portion of a particular page of a document may fall in
the exempt category but the remaining may not. In such cases,
CPIO is duty bound to furnish the portion of information, which is
not covered by exemption provisions. The severablility of the
exempt portion from the remaining record has to be carefully
analyzed to prevent leakage of exempt portion.

Before taking final decision in such cases, CPIO shall issue

notice to the applicant informing that only part of the record
can be supplied. CPIO shall also provide reasons for the
decision including any finding on the material questions of fact
with reference to the material on which the findings are
based.

OBTAINING INFORMATION

i) Two channels have been provided in the RTI Act for the CPIO to
obtain information.
ii) First, the information which stands disseminated and which is
expected to be with the CPIO hopefully in electronically
networked form. Information can also be accessed by the CPIO
from the official website of the Income Tax Department
(www.incometaxindia.gov.in).
iii) If application relates to any such information, the CPIO can
deliver it without any restrictions or prohibitions on payment of
fees to be prescribed u/s 4(4) of the RTI Act.
iv) Second, for all other information, the CPIO has to obtain the
same from the officer/official concerned who is in possession of
the particular information. The Act requires CPIO to officially
call for such information.
v) The CPIO is vested with authority to seek assistance of any
other officer for the proper discharge of his/her duties. In case
of default by such officer, that officer shall be deemed CPIO in
respect of the particular application. Any penal consequences of
default in such cases shall lie on that officer. It is only through
this process that the CPIO can effectively function.

22
vi) The CPIO must also obtain from such officer, details of the cost
associated in gathering the information as specified in section
7(3) of the Act.

SUPPLY OF INFORMATION

(i) CPIO has power either to supply the information or reject the
application. In case of latter, a formal order is necessary and
this order is appellable. In case of former, he must ensure
payment of fees before release of information. In either case,
he has to keep track of date of limitation.
(ii) CPIO has to supply information on demand not only in
conventional format but also on electronic media like diskettes,
floppies, tapes including videotapes and e-mail. As far as
possible information should be supplied in the requested format
and the decision on this issue is appellable.

CPIO can determine the mode of supply of information when

the request to supply information in a particular mode would
disproportionately divert the resources of the Public Authority
or would be detrimental to the safety or preservation of the
record in question.

Information has to be supplied or order of rejection to be

passed within 30 days of receipt of an application seeking
information.

(iii) For applications filed before CAPIO, the period gets extended to
35 days. This limitation gets further extended in following
circumstances.

If third party interest (as discussed above) is involved the

time limit gets extended.

If further fees is chargeable u/s 7(3), the time limit will get
extended.

Where a request has been rejected, the CPIO in his order,

shall communicate to the applicant - (i) the reasons for such
rejection, (ii) the period within which an appeal against such
rejection may be preferred and (iii) the particulars of the
Appellate Authority.
(iv) Notwithstanding the above, where the information requested
for concerns the life or liberty of a person, the same shall be

23
 provided by the CPIO within forty-eight hours of the receipt of
the request.

DECISION MAKING

i. Information has to be supplied subject to its accessibility and

exemptions.

ii. An applicant seeking information should not be asked any

reasons for requesting the information

iii. In appropriate cases covered by exemptions, the CPIO has to

suo motu decide whether any public interest is involved. The
onus of rejecting the criteria of public interest lies exclusively
with the CPIO.

iv. In some cases, the CPIO may also have to weigh public interest
vis a vis harm to protected interests and pass his order.

v. What is public interest is not defined in the Act. The decisions of

Central Information Commission available on the website
http://cic.gov.in may be of help in this regard. A separate
section is incorporated in this manual for guidance of CPIOs on
this matter.

vi. CPIO is debarred from seeking any reasons of public interest

from the applicant. However, the applicant may on his own
specify the pubic purpose in his application.

vii. CPIO is debarred from seeking any personal details from the
applicant except those that may be necessary for contacting
him.

viii. If the information requested is not provided within the stipulated

time and no formal letter of rejection is issued, it would be
deemed that the request has been rejected.

ix. Information that is available with the concerned functionaries.

x. In case the application is not rejected but information is not

supplied within the stipulated time, fees prescribed u/s 7(5)
shall not be charged (combined reading of section 7(5) and
7(6)).

24
xi. In case of default by the CPIO, Central Information Commission
can levy fine of Rs. 250 per day, up to a maximum of Rs.
25,000/- for –
a. not accepting an application;
b. delaying release of information without reasonable
cause;
c. malafide denial of information;
d. knowingly giving incomplete, incorrect or misleading
information;
e. destroying information that has been requested and
obstructing furnishing of information in any manner
xii. The Central Information Commission can also recommend
disciplinary action against a CPIO for recurring defaults.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES OF CAPIOs

The duties of the CAPIOs are to receive the applications for

information/appeals under the Act for forwarding the same forthwith to
the concerned CPIO/Appellate Authority, as the case may be. The
CAPIOs should make it a point to forward the applications/appeals on
the same day to the CPIO/Appellate Authority. As already discussed,
the CPIO gets extra time of only five days in case of applications filed
before CAPIO.

*****

25
 Chapter 6
VI. APPELLATE AUTHORITIES – ROLES AND
RESPONSIBILITES

FIRST APPELLATE AUTHORITY

As per section 19 of the RTI Act, 2005, first appeal against the
order of CPIO lies with the designated appellate authority. This appeal
has to be filed within 30 days from the expiry of the prescribed time
limit (for receipt of information) or from the date of receipt of the
decision of CPIO. In case of appeal filed by third party, appeal has to
be filed within 30 days of the date of the order of the CPIO.

The role of first appellate authority is of paramount importance

because the appellate authority is the immediate superior of a CPIO as
well as a judicial authority immediately above the CPIO for the purpose
of implementation of the Act. Therefore, the appellate authority in
his/her administrative capacity has to ensure smooth implementation
of the Act and in the judicial capacity discipline the erring
CPIOs/CAPIOs.

Upon receipt of the appeal, Appellate Authority has to take the

following action.

1. In case of delay in filing in appeal, the appellate authority

may admit the appeal if he/she is satisfied that the appellant
was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in
time.
2. The appellate authority shall dispose of the appeal within
30 days from the date of filing.

26
 This time limit can be extended suo motu by the appellate
authority to a period not exceeding a total of 45 days from
the date of filing of appeal.

Reasons for extension of time have to be recorded in

writing.

SECOND APPEAL TO THE CENTRAL INFORMATION

COMMISSION

Second appeal from the order of the first appellate authority lies
with Central Information Commission within 90 days from the date on
which the decision of the appellate authority is received or should have
been delivered. Upon filing of the appeal, the Central Information
Commission has to undertake the following actions:

1. In case of delay in filing in appeal, the Commission may

admit the appeal if satisfied that the appellant was prevented
by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time.
2. No time limit is prescribed for the Central Information
Commission to dispose of the second appeal.
3. The Commission shall give reasonable opportunity of
hearing to the concerned third party.
4. The decision of the Commission is binding.
5. The Commission, in its decision, can direct the public
authority to take necessary steps to secure compliance under
the Act.
6. The Commission can also award compensation to the
appellant for any loss or detriment suffered, impose penalty on
the CPIO and also recommend initiation of disciplinary action
against him/her.
7. Actions undertaken or intended to be done in good faith
are protected.
8. There is bar on courts to entertain any suit, application or
other proceeding in respect of any order made under the RTI
Act, 2005. However, the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
and High Courts under Articles 32 and 225 of the Constitution
remain unaffected.

27
 9. No fees is prescribed under the Act for filing appeal (but
the same can be prescribed under the rules in pursuance of
section 19(10)).

Central Information Commission (Appeal Procedure) Rules, 2005

have been notified by DOPT on 28-10-05. Salient features of the Rules
are as follows:

1. These rules prescribe the contents of the appeal like name

and address of the appellant, name and address of CPIO, brief
facts of the case, particulars of the order, relief sought,
grounds of appeal, verification etc.
2. details of documents that should accompany appeal are
prescribed
3. Procedure to be followed in deciding the appeal is laid
down
4. Service of notices by commission and conditions for
presence of the appellant are also prescribed
5. It is also laid down that the order of the commission shall
be pronounced in open proceedings and be duly in writing
authorized by the Registrar or some other officer authorized
by the Commission.

Constitution of the Central Information Commission is also

notified by the Government on 11-10-05. Shri Wajahat
Habibullah is appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner.
Shri A.N. Tiwari, Shri O.P Kejriwal, Shri M.M Ansari and Smt
Padma Balasubramanian are appointed as the Information
Commissioners.

*****

28
 Chapter 7

VII. EXEMPTION PROVISIONS - INTERPRETATION

The spirit and intention of the RTI Act, 2005 is to treat disclosure
of information as the norm. Therefore, information should not be
withheld unless there are strong reasons, which are permissible under
the Act. Yet, in certain situations it is not in the public interest to
disclose information. Taking cognizance of this fact, certain exemption
provisions are incorporated in the Act.

The exemption provisions can be broadly classified into two

categories. First category is that of exemption by “person”. Second
category is that of exemption of a “class” of information.

EXEMPTION BY PERSON

Exemption by “person” occurs when a particular agency or entity

is fully exempt from the purview of the application of the Act i.e falls
under the category of “absolute” exemption.

As per section 24(1) read with Second Schedule of the Act, some
of the security and intelligence organizations are exempt from the
application of the RTI Act. Organizations that are exempt from the
purview of the Act are:
1. Intelligence Bureau.
2. Research and Analysis Wing of the Cabinet Secretariat.
3. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
4. Central Economic Intelligence Bureau.
5. Directorate of Enforcement.

29
 6. Narcotics Control Bureau.
7. Aviation Research Centre.
8. Special Frontier Force.
9. Border Security Force.
10. Central Reserve Police Force.
11. Indo-Tibetan Border Police.
12. Central Industrial Security Force.
13. National Security Guards.
14. Assam Rifles.
15. Special Service Bureau.
16. Special Branch (CID), Andaman and Nicobar.
17. The Crime Branch-C.I.D.- CB, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
18. Special Branch, Lakshadweep Police.
Section 24(2) and 24(3) provide for further notification of such
organizations.

However, in cases of allegations of corruption and violation of

human rights, even the above organizations are not exempt. In case of
violation of human rights, information has to be furnished with the
approval of Central Information Commission.

EXEMPTION BY CLASS

In general, certain information is exempt because it relates to

specific topics or belongs to a certain class of information. The list of
such exempt cases has been bifurcated into two categories for
clarification of understanding.

Category I - General public interest has no role to play

(a) information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the

sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific
or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or
lead to incitement of an offence;
(b) information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by
any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may
constitute contempt of court;
(c) information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of
privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;
(f) information received in confidence from foreign Government;
(g) information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or
physical safety of any person or identify the source of information

30
 or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security
purposes;
(h) information which would impede the process of investigation or
apprehension or prosecution of offenders;
(i) Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of
Ministers, Secretaries and other officers till the period the decision
is taken or matter is complete

Category II - General public interest can supercede the

exemption

(a) information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or

intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the
competitive position of a third party, unless the competent
authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the
disclosure of such information;
(b) information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship,
unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public
interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
(c) information which relates to personal information, the disclosure of
which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or
which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the
individual unless the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of
such information

AN OVERRIDING FACTOR

However in respect of personal information mentioned at item

(c) of Category – II mentioned above, if the information cannot be
denied to the Parliament or Legislature, then access to the same
cannot be denied to the any applicant under the RTI Act.

DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IN RETURNS OF

INCOME – OPINION OF MINISTRY OF LAW &
JUSTICE

On the issue of disclosure of personal information to a third

party, a reference was made by CCIT, Mumbai to Department of Legal
Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice. The opinion of the Ministry of Law &
Justice is circulated by CBDT in F. No. 402/9/2005-ITCC dated 29-11-
2005. Ministry of Law & Justice opined that information contained in
the return of income is certainly of personal nature and its disclosure
will not serve any public interest and no individual has got right to

31
information in such matters. Decisions of Central Information
Commission available on the website http://cic.gov.in are of great help
in this regard (decisions are available on action to be taken in case of
information sought on sub-judice matters, DPC minutes, ACR files,
examination papers, bank accounts, PAN numbers and so on)

ANOTHER OVERRIDING FACTOR - PUBLIC INTEREST

VIS A VIS PROTECTED INTEREST

As per section 8(2), if public interest in disclosure outweighs the

harm to protected interests, the CPIO can override the exemption
provisions u/s 8(1) and disclose the information. Official Secrets Act,
1923 or any other Act is also overridden for this purpose.

A NEGATIVE OVERRIDING FACTOR

A CPIO may reject a request for information if it involves an

infringement of copyright subsisting in a person other than the State.

DISCLOSURE TO BE IN MEANINGFUL MANNER

A word of caution to the CPIOs that sometimes an effort may be

made by an applicant to obtain information in a manner, which is out
of context to be used to generate baseless or adverse publicity against
the Department or an individual. In such a setting, it is advisable to
reveal additional information by the CPIO on his/her own to put the
entire issue in proper perspective so that the information becomes
meaningful and cannot be used in a misleading manner.

WHEN IT CAN BE SAID THAT PUBLIC INTEREST IS

SERVED

The Right to Information Act does not define “public interest”. The
issue is open. The idea of what may constitute public interest detailed
below has emerged out of deliberations amongst officers of the
Training Directorate:

i) awareness and participation in debate on issues of

critical/current importance;
ii) promotion of accountability and transparency in spending
of public money

32
 iii) promotion of accountability and transparency in decision
making process of public authority
iv) enhancing public understanding of decisions of public
authorities affecting lives of citizens
v) enhancing public awareness on issues of public safety

The above aspects of public interest are illustrative and not

exhaustive. The basis of these ideas has been judicial
pronouncements and interpretations of Acts prevalent in other
countries on the right to information.

OPINION OF MINSITRY OF LAW ON “PUBLIC

INTEREST” AND RECENT DECISIONS OF CIC

On the issue of public interest in a reference made by CCIT,

Mumbai, Ministry of Law and Justice opined that the expression “public
interest means those interests which concern the public at large.
Matters of Public Interest does not mean that which is interesting as
gratifying curiosity or love of information or amusement, but that in
which a class of the community have a pecuniary interest or some
interest by which their legal rights or liabilities are affected. Public
Interest concerns welfare and rights of the community or a class
thereof”. This opinion is circulated by CBDT vide F. No 402/9/2005-
ITCC dated 29-11-2005.

Recent decisions of Central Information Commission available on

the website http://cic.gov.in are of great help in determining the issue
of public interest.

REQUESTS TO PROVIDE OPINIONS OR

INTERPRETATION OF LAW OR FACTS

An application may seek opinion of the authority on a set of facts

or on a point of law. In some cases, requests may also be made to
interpret the law or to draw inferences on a set of facts. All these
requests do not fall under the category of requests for information and
the CPIO can reject such requests. However, where
opinion/interpretation forms part of a record or any proceedings, it
shall not be possible to deny the same.

33
 MAINTENANCE OF REGISTERS AND RETENTION
POLICY

DOMS Circular No. 65 dated 06-12-1995 prescribes retention

schedule for 127 items of registers. The Department is not expected to
maintain these registers after the period prescribed in the circular.
Therefore, it is necessary to give wide publicity about the retention
schedule so that applicants do not make a request for information
related to registers which are beyond retention schedule.

DUTY OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY TO DISCLOSE

INFORMATION

A public authority cannot deny information merely on the ground

that the applicant has no relation or concern with the information.
However, under certain circumstances, where an unconnected person
demands information which is personal in nature and related to a third
party, the Central Information Commission held that such information
need not be disclosed.

In the case of Arun Verma (Appeal No. 05/IC (A)/CIC/2006 – Order

dated 03-03-2006 – In the case of Arun Verma Vs DGIT (Systems), IT
Department), the applicant sought information from CPIO, CBDT
regarding details of PAN number, Date of Allotment of PAN number,
TAN number and Date of Allotment of TAN number in case of 26
companies. These companies are engaged in sea food and marine
product business. How the appellant is associated to the companies
was not known. In this case, the Commission held that PAN is a
statuary number, which functions as a unique identification for each
tax payers. Making PAN public can result in misuse of this information
by other persons to quote wrong PAN while entering into financial
transactions and also could compromise the privacy of the personal
financial transactions linked with PAN. This also holds true for TAN.
Information relating to PAN and TAN, including the dated of issue of
these numbers, are composite and confidential in nature under Section
138 of Income Tax Act. The appellant has not made a case of bonafide
public interest for disclosure of PAN/TAN Numbers of 26 companies on
grounds of submissions of their application for above purposes or filing
of tax returns. The appeal was therefore dismissed.

However, in the case of Dinesh Berry (Appeal No.

07/IC(A)/CIC/2006 – Order dated 06-03-2006 – In the case of Dinesh

34
Berry Vs CPIO, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd), the Commision held
that tour programme and travel expenses of a public servant cannot be
treated as personal information. The information sought is required by
the appellant to defend his case properly. The Commission therefore
directed CPIO of BPCL, Mumbai to provide the information sought by
the appellant within fifteen days of the issue of the decision.

In the case of A.P Singh (Appeal No. 12/IC(A)/2006 – Order dated

14-03-2006 – In the case of A.P Singh Vs Punjab National Bank, Zonal
Office, Ludhiana), the applicant sought to inspect the bank account of
M/s Prabhat Forgings Pvt Ltd. The Commission observed that the
appellant has not indicated any bonafide public interest in having
access to the bank account of the company with which he has no
association or business relationship. Therefore, the information need
not be disclosed as Bank is bound to maintain confidentiality of
information related to its Clients. In a similar case of Manoj K Kamra
(Appeal No. 17/ IC(A)/2006 – Order dated 28-03-2006 – Sections 8(1)
(d), (e) and (j) – In the case Manoj K. Kamra Vs Punjab National Bank,
Jaipur), the applicant sought all the ‘valuation reports of the last two
years of immovable assets of borrowers. He was of the view that
‘loaning is a public activity and the prevailing practice of unduly
excessive valuation of substandard assets have led to increase in NPA.
So in wider public interest, overvalued loans needs to be exposed’.
Bank’s view was that details of immovable properties mortgaged by
individual borrowers to obtain loans are personal information, the
disclosure of which is exempt under section 8(j) as it may cause
unwarranted invasion of privacy. Parting of such information may
affect their economic and commercial interests and competitiveness.
Disclosure of such information is therefore exempted under Section
8(1) (d) of RTI Act, 2005. Also Banks are under obligation to maintain
secrecy about the affairs of their clients as per Section 13(1) of the
Banking Companies Act, 1970. The Commission held that disbursement
of loans is a public activity and therefore the issue of NPA is a matter of
serious concern to the society. However, disclosure of reports of
valuation of immovable properties of borrowers is not enough to
identify the sources of NPA. The appellant has not asked for the details
of bad loans that have contributed to NPA or the action taken by the
Bank to recover loans. It therefore cannot be established how the
valuation reports of last two years would indicate the extent of NPA
attributable to high or low valuation of properties of borrowers. In fact,
the appellant has made a mention of NPA in his appeal to the
Commission, while he was silent on this issue in his original application
for information. The link between valuation of mortgaged properties of
borrowers and NPA is not clear. There is therefore no bonafide public
interest in disclosure of valuation reports submitted to the Bank by the
borrowers. The Bank is also required to maintain secrecy of details of

35
loan accounts as it is personal information and is also in the nature of
commercial confidence – Therefore, the Commission held that the
exemption from disclosure of information under Section 8(1)(d),(e) and
(j) has been correctly applied by the Bank.

In the case of Tapas Datta (Appeal No. 18/IC(A)/2006 - Order

dated 28-03-2006 – In the case of Tapas Datta Vs Indian Oil
Corporation Ltd), CIC observed that the relevant portions of the
documents sought for has been provided to the appellant as per the
direction of the Court. Accordingly, CIC held that the assessment
reports by the superior officers are personal and confidential
information and therefore exempted under Section 8(1) (j) of the RTI
Act.

EXEMPTION NOT TO APPLY IN CERTAIN CASES WHERE

A TIME GAP OF TWENTY YEARS HAS ELAPSED

Barring information listed at clauses (a), (c) and (i)of section

8(1), information related to rest of the items mentioned in section 8(1)
shall be disclosed without restriction if the happening of the event is
twenty years or more.

*******

36
 Chapter 8

VIII. TIME LIMITS FOR SUPPLY OF INFORMATION

The Right to Information Act grants the CPIO 30 days from the
date of application for supplying information.

A grace period of 5 days is added when the application is filed

before a CAPIO.

Extensions of this time limit are possible in following

circumstances:

• When a third party interest is involved, and the CPIO

issues notice to third party inviting objections, three situations
can arise.
 First, the third party does not respond or does not
object. The time limit remains unchanged.
 Second, the third party objects. The CPIO has to
pass an order on whether he agrees with the objections of
the third party. If yes, by implication, the CPIO does not
intend to release the information to the applicant. The
CPIO has to pass an order and serve the same on the
applicant. The CPIO gets a grace period of 10 days.
 Third, the third party objects and the CPIO does not
agree with the objections of the third party. By implication
the CPIO intends to release the information to the
applicant. The CPIO has to pass order about his intention
and serve it on the third party. The CPIO gets a grace

37
 period of 10 days. The third party has a right to appeal
against the order of the CPIO. The limitation in this
situation does not prevail. Therefore, the information can
not be provided till the expiry of time limit of filing the
appeal, in case no appeal is filed by the third party and till
the finalization of the appellate proceedings, in case appeal
is filed.
• In situations where the CPIO demands further fees u/s
7(3) of the Act, the time intervening between dispatch of the
notice to the applicant demanding further fees and payment
of further fees including the time taken for finalization of
appeal, if any, on the issue of further fees gets excluded from
the time limit.

Chapter 9
IX. FEE

There are five categories of fee prescribed under the Act.

• First, fees to accompany the application u/s 6(1). This fee has to
be prescribed by DOPT. Vide notification dated 16-09-2005,
DOPT framed the Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and
Cost) Rules 2005 and prescribed the fee u/s 6(1) as Rs 10/-.
• The second category of fee is related to information which is
already disseminated and available but the applicant desires to
have it from the CPIO. This situation may arise where the
applicant has no access to internet or the applicant may be
desiring certified copies or may be desiring the information in a
particular format other than the available format. This fee is
required to be paid u/s 4(4) of the Act. In this case also, DOPT
has to prescribe the rates.
• Third category of fee is payable u/s 7(1). Vide Rules referred
above, this fee is prescribed by DOPT. Details are as follows:
 Rs 2/- for each page (in A-4 or A-3 size paper) created or
copied;
 actual charge or cost price of a copy in larger size paper;
 actual cost or price for samples or models; and

38
  for inspection of records, no fee for the first hour and a fee
of Rs 5/- for each subsequent hour1 (or fraction thereof)
thereafter
• Third situation is where information is sought is other than what
has been disseminated. Under section 7(5), the CPIO has to
recover the cost of print or electronic format. This fee is also
prescribed under the Rules referred above.

For information provided in diskette or floppy, the fee is

prescribed at Rs 50/- per diskette or floppy and

For information provided in printed form, the fee is at the

price fixed for such publication or Rs 2/- per page of
photocopy for extracts from the publication.

Note: Applicants below the poverty line are not required to pay any
of the above three categories of fees.
• There can be situations where either the CPIO or the officer from
whom CPIO has sought assistance for providing the information
u/s 5(4) of the Act, may have to incur expenditure in collecting
or collating the information and may have to divert his available
resources for the purpose. The Act provides for recovery of this
cost of providing the information by way of charging of further
fees u/s 7(3). The Act does not provide the quantum of fees to
be charged nor empowers the Government/Competent Authority
to prescribe such fees. This is a case specific situation.
Therefore, the quantum of further fees to be charged has to be
decided by the CPIO as well as the officer(s) whose assistance is
sought. This quantum of fees is appeallable. The detailed
procedure of charging this fees has already been explained
above.
• Any of the fee described above can be paid in cash or through
DD or Bankers Cheque to the Accounts Officer of the Public
Authority.
• Regarding payment of fees Office of Principal Chief Controller of
Accounts, CBDT vide Lr No. PCCA/CDN/RIA/05-06/1818 dated
10-11-05 issued the following clarifications regarding accounting
procedure:
i. The fee has to be treated as non-tax revenue

1
In the initial rules, the time was fifteen minutes. But as amended by Right to
Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) (Amendment) Rules, 2005 dated 27-10-05,
the time of fifteen minutes was changed to one hour.

39
 ii. If the fee is paid in cash to Departmental Officer
(DDO), the same may be converted into DD in favour of
ZAO and remitted to the latter for crediting to Government
Account.
iii. If the DDO is a cheque drawing DDO (FPU), then the
fee collected in cash can be remitted by the DDO himself
into the bank account duly supported by the challan in
GAR-7.
iv. At stations where there is ZAO, fee paid in cash to
DDO is to be remitted into the account of ZAO through
challan in GAR-7.
v. The fee should be remitted immediately and not later
than 7 days of realization or accumulation not exceeding
Rs 500/- whichever is earlier. Receipt should be given in
prescribed form no. GAR-6.
vi. Fees paid in cheques or DDs should be taken as
crossed cheques/DDs drawn on local branch of a scheduled
bank where cheque drawing DDO or ZAO has an account.
Cheques/DDs should be drawn in the name of ZAO.
Preliminary acknowledgement receipt has to be issued.
Details of the cheque/DD should be entered in the register
of valuables in GAR-5 and challan should be in GAR-7.
vii. Refund of fees is governed by the procedure
prescribed under Rule 139 of Receipts and Payments
Rules, 1983.
viii. Receipts so realized may be credited to the transitory
Minor Head-500 – Receipts awaiting transfer to the other
Minor Head under the Major Head-0075-Misc General
Services pending approval of the4 CAG for booking under
the final head.

********

40
 Chapter 10

X. PUBLICATION SCHEMES AND RECORD

MANAGEMENT

It may happen that the information or documents sought by

applicants are not readily traceable. Some reasons for this can be
visualized as:

• The papers are misfiled

• The record keeping practices are imperfect and proper training is
not given to staff in record keeping
• Application may be ill defined and does not clearly identify the
documents
• There is no uniform method of record keeping at different offices
within the same location
• Such information may not exist at all but the authority is not in a
position to ascertain this fact.

These situations may cause serious difficulties in the functioning

of the CPIO. Therefore, it is necessary to categorize information into

41
classes, organize and index records according to the classes and
decide on the publication scheme for suo motu disclosure so that
public is well aware of the policies and practices of the Department.
This will ease the burden on the CPIOs to a great extent because the
public is aware before approaching the Department for information and
also information is available in organized fashion, which facilitates ease
of retrieval.

MANDATORY PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION U/S

4(1)(B)

Publication of certain classes of information is to be done as per

the statutory requirement laid down u/s 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act on or
before 12-10-2005 without fail. In this context, DOM&S has prescribed
the guidelines on who should publish the details [F. No. 50/1/2005-
WS/DOMS dated 10-08-2005 issued by Director (DOM&S) and also
available at Annexure – V of this manual].

Therefore, immediate steps need to be taken at the central level

and at the regional level to publish the information mentioned above.

CATALOGUING AND INDEXING OF RECORDS U/S 4(1)

(A)

The public authority is also duty bound u/s 4(1)(a) of the RTI Act
to maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner
and the form which facilitates the right to information under the Act
and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerized
are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources,
computerized and connected through a network all over the country on
different systems so that access to such records is facilitated.
Therefore, each public authority is duty bound to prepare a catalogue
of all records maintained by it and index the same in computerized
format and make it available to the public.

Anticipating the likely demand from applicants, some of the

classes of the information, which may need cataloguing and indexing,
are suggested below.

1. Details of all the registers for which retention schedules are

prescribed in DOMS Circular No. 65 dated 06-12-1995.
2. Details of assessment records maintained by the AOs and
available in the record room

42
3. Details of other office files maintained by the AOs, Range
Heads and CsIT (Illustrative list is attached as Annexure –
VI to this manual)
4. List of all applications pending and disposed u/s 154 (both
on application of assessee and due to action by the
Department)
5. List of all grievance petitions pending and disposed
6. List of all appeal effects pending and disposed
7. Details of all assessments pending (regular scrutiny,
reassessment, assessments due to revision and search
assessments)
8. Details of all audit objections raised by RAP (category wise
– draft para, major or minor and review wise) as well as
IAP and the outcome.
9. Details of all appeals pending and disposed (before CIT(A),
ITAT, HC or SC)
10. Details of appeal effects pending and disposed (from
orders of CIT(A), ITAT, HC or SC)
11. Details of cases where appeals are not preferred (both on
account of financial limits as well as on merits at each level
i.e to ITAT, HC and SC).
12. Details of appeals filed by the assessees and their status.
13. Details of cases before Settlement Commission
14. Details of cases pending before High Power Committee on
Disputes and issues involved.
15. Asset inventory of the public authority
16. Details of organizations for which registration is
granted/refused/application pending u/s 12A, approval
granted/refused/pending u/s 80G, exempt or notified u/s
10 (sub-section wise)
17. List of searches conducted and the outcome of such
searches
18. List of surveys conducted and the outcome of such surveys
19. Details of penalties levied and their outcome (section wise)
20. Details of prosecutions launched and their outcome
(section wise) along with details of compounding of
offences, if any.
21. Details of cases in which directions u/s 144A were issued
and the outcome
22. Details of assessments set aside/directions issued u/s 263
or 264 and their outcome
23. Details of remand reports sought by CIT(A) and
24. Contracts with AMC Vendors, UTIISL and NSDL
25. Status of PAN applications pending with UTIISL/NSDL

43
 26. Details of processing u/s 143(1) like current status on
processing and issue of refunds (with acknowledgement
numbers of the returns)
27. List of cases referred to Valuation Cell and list of reports
received from the Valuation Cell.
28. Attachments made by the TRO or AO
29. Auctions held by the Department
30. Details of TDS returns filed
31. Details of returns filed through e-filing
32. Financial budget of the each independent unit with details
of receipt and expenditure.
33. CAP – I, CAP – II, CAP – III, Quarterly reports and all other
reports.
34. Details of returns filed, processed and assessed under the
provisions of FBT/STT/BCTT.
35. Similar information in respect of other Direct Taxes also
needs to be maintained, wherever applicable.

All these details are already available in each office, in one form
or other. Now, most of the details are available in computerized
formats because computers are extensively used in the Department.
Only one has to organize all the information in a proper manner,
catalogue and index the same. Index of the information has to be
made available to the CPIO in the form of information
sheets/publication list. It is recommended that this list may be
prescribed by the CCIT/DGIT for the sake of uniformity. More
important is the need for each office to update the information. It is
better to update the registers in computerized format as soon as the
information is received in an office or action is taken by an officer.
Officers and staff need to be trained on this aspect and regular
monitoring by higher authorities is also necessary.

RIGHT TO INSPECT IS ALSO PART OF RIGHT TO

INFORMATION

Right to information includes the right to inspect the records. It

is suggested that whenever, an application demands inspection of a
document which in the opinion of the officer in possession of the
document may contain any information which can not be disclosed, the
document should be inspected personally by a sufficiently senior officer
to ascertain the fact and then a decision may be taken. This will be
necessary in particular in cases where part of the document contains
information disclosure of which will hamper the investigations or create
adverse impact on revenue or safety or privacy of individuals. In case

44
of internal confidential records, a code number scheme can be adopted
to identify the records because mention of the subject may unravel the
confidentiality.

*****

Chapter 11
XI. PROACTIVE DISCLOSURE

The philosophy of the Right to Information Act is that citizens’

need to resort to seeking information is minimal. This requires that
every authority make as much information available to the public suo
motu as possible. The Act casts duty upon every public authority not
only to publish but also to disseminate every possible piece of
information. This is possible by including variety of non-exempted
categories of information on the website which can be easily accessed
by the citizens and if necessary by the CPIO himself. Subsections 2, 3
and 4 of the RTI Act, 2005 deal with proactive disclosure. As per
subsection 2 of section 4, “it shall be a constant endeavor of every
public authority to take steps in accordance with the requirements of
clause (b) of sub-section (1) to provide as much information suo motu
to the public at regular intervals through various means of
communications, including internet, so that the public have minimum
resort to the use of this Act to obtain information”. As per subsections
3 and 4 of section 4, all materials shall be disseminated in wide
manner taking into considerations of cost effectiveness, local language
and the most effective methods of communication prevalent in the
area. Information also shall be made available in electronic format.

45
Proactive disclosure enables promotion of transparency and also
reduces the demand on the functions of the CPIO. It is therefore
advisable to publish all the information, which can be widely sought by
the citizens.

Chapter 12

XII. CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTATION

The most important challenge that lies ahead of implementation

of the RTI Act 2005 is of breaking the culture of secrecy that pervades
in the Department. Our officers and staff are trained to maintain
utmost secrecy. Income Tax proceedings are viewed as private
proceedings. Information can only be disclosed under the provisions of
section 138 of the I.T Act, 1961 that have limited scope for disclosure.
With the introduction of the RTI Act, 2005, the provisions of section
138 of the I.T Act stand overridden wherever application seeking
information is under the RTI Act. However, provisions of section 138
still continue in respect of applications received under that section.
From now on, the rule is that the balance lies in favour of disclosure.

KEY CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN THE IMPLEMENATION

OF THE ACT

The key challenges in implementation are as follows:

i) Creation of implementation machinery for compliance

by 22-09-2005 and activation of the machinery before 12-
10-2005.

46
 ii) Categorization of records for the purpose of
preparation of information lists
iii) Preparation and indexation of catalogues of records
iv) Achieving uniformity throughout the country in
record management
v) Establishing a publication policy and dynamically
tune the policy considering the demand for information
vi) Deciding publications for purpose of proactive
disclosure
vii) Uniform interpretation of exemption clauses and
viii) Setting up of machinery for monitoring and reporting

STEPS TO BE TAKEN FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE

ACT
(SOME PORTIONS OF THE MATTER BELOW ARE NOT RELEVANT
BECAUSE ACT IS ALREADY BEING IMPLEMENTED)

Steps suggested for implementation of the RTI Act are as follows:

i) Designation of CPIOs and CAPIOs to be done by 22-09-05 and

the details of these persons have to be published.
ii) Immediate establishment of a front office for the CPIO
(Central Public Information Officer) and CAPIO (Central Assistant
Public Information Officer) for receiving applications from 12-10-2005.
iii) Records have to be categorized in such a manner that
accessing the information by CPIO would not be a difficult process.
iv) Every CPIO must be in possession of list of records
maintained by each office. If the list is long, then the list can be
maintained on a computer in the front office of the CPIO or CAPIO.
v) Immediate steps should be taken to prepare details as
required u/s 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act 2005 so that these details are
published without fail before 12-10-2005. Reference may be made to
F. No. 50/1/2005-WS/DOMS dated 10-08-2005 issued by Director
(DO&MS) [available at Annexure – IV of this manual and also list
available at Annexure – V of this manual].
vi) Model applications which are computer friendly have to be
designed so that applicants can fill these applications.
vii) Front office staff of the CPIO and CAPIO have to be trained in
handling the requests for applications and also in advising the
applicants to make specific requests instead of vague requests. These
staff also need to be trained to cull out information from the published
data so that in case of some of the applications information can be
provided right at the application stage. They should be in a position to

47
 make a prima facie assessment whether the information sought can be
provided within 30 days or not or any third party is involved or not.
viii) All contracts with existing vendors have to be suitably
revised, wherever necessary enabling disclosure of information to the
public as required under the RTI Act 2005.

DOM&S in letter dated 10-08-05 (F. 50/1/2005-WS/DOMS)

has issued general guidelines to all CcsIT/DGsIT on
preparedness towards implementation of the RTI Act. Copy of
this letter is available as Annexure – IV to this manual

Chapter 13
XIII. RECOMMENDED FORMAT FOR FORMS AND
APPLICATIONS

Specific formats for forms may be prescribed by DOPT under the

rules to be framed for the RTI Act, 2005. However, as on today, there
is no specific format for many forms. Therefore, the following formats
are recommended. It may be stated here that each authority can
design its own forms, wherever they are statutorily not prescribed:

1. FORM OF APPLICATION FOR SEEKING INFORMATION

(Though application can be prescribed but it cannot be made
mandatory as per decision of CIC in the case of Madhu Bhaduri Vs
CPIO, DDA (COMPLIANT NO CIC/C/I/2006 – ORDER DATED 16-01-06
– SECTION 18 – IN THE CASE OF MADHU BHADURI Vs CPIO – Review
Application No CIC/C/I/2006 – REVIEW ORDER DATED 30-10-06)

(under section 6(1) of the RTI Act 2005)

Application ID. No: ………

(For official use)
To
The Central Public Information Officer,

_____________________

48
1. Name of the Applicant
_______________________________________

2. Address
_______________________________________

_______________________________________

3. Particulars of information

(a) Concerned Office :

(b) Particulars of information required :

(i) Details of information required :

(ii) Period for which information asked for :

(iii) Other details :

4. Form in which information is required:

5. Media on which information is required (hard copy, on CD/Floppy,

through e-mail etc) ( additional fee may be charged to cover the cost
of media):

6. Mode of delivery expected (ordinary post, RPAD, speed post, by

hand, through internet or e-mail, by fax etc) (additional fee may be
charged to cover cost of delivery):

7. The information can be furnished within 30 days as prescribed u/s

8(1)/The information sought concerns my life and liberty. Therefore
the information may be furnished within 48 hours.

8. Without prejudice to my rights under the RTI Act 2005, to facilitate

faster retrieval of information, I would like to state that the information
could be available in item No. _____ of the index of information sheet
maintained by your office.

9. I state that the information sought does not fall within the
restrictions contained in section 8 and 9 of the Act and to the best of
my knowledge it pertains to your office.

49
10. I also state that I am a citizen of India and I am eligible to seek
information under the Right to Information Act 2005.

11. A fee of Rs __________ has been deposited vide challan No

________ dated ___________ paid at __________________Bank or
the applicant is not liable to pay any fee because he/she is below
poverty line (proof is attached)

Place :
Date : (Name &
Signature)
Email address:
Tel No :

CHECK LIST FOR OFFICIAL USE

1. Whether the information is related to the Public Authority or not?
2. Whether the applicant is a citizen of India or not?
3. Whether evidence of payment of fee is attached/proof of status
below poverty line is attached?
4. Whether assistance is required for rendering the request to
writing or making the request more specific?
5. Whether the information is available in published data?
6. Whether the information can be located from the records
mentioned in the catalogue?
7. Whether disclosure of information involves information related to
any third party?
8. Whether similar requests have already been made by the
applicant or any other party (if a request was already made and
information supplied to the applicant on an earlier occasion,
there is no need to furnish the information again. If similar
information is supplied to another party, it will be easy to cull out
the information now) ?
9. Whether the information is covered by provisions of section 8 or
section 9?

2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF APPLICATION

ID No. ________ Dated ______,

1. Received an application seeking information from Mr/Ms
_______________.

50
 2. The applicant is advised to contact the undersigned either
personally or over phone on __________ (Contact telephone
Number to be given) to know about the status of the application
and date of furnishing of information (not later than 48 hours/30
days/40 days from the receipt of the application as the case may
be)
3. In case the applicant fails to turn up on the due date prescribed
u/s 7(1) or 11(3) of the RTI Act, this authority shall not be
responsible for any delay in supply of information.
4. The applicant has to pay fee of Rs ___ prescribed u/s 4(4) or
6(1) or 7(1) or 7(5) or the fee under the above sections will be
intimated soon.
5. The applicant has to pay any additional fee, if a request is made
by this authority.
6. The applicant may also watch the web site (name of website to
be given) from time to time to know about the status of his
application.
(CPIO)
Tel No.
e-mail address:

3. INTIMATION OF TRANSFERRING THE APPLICATION TO

ANOTHER PUBLIC AUTHORITY (U/S 6(3) OF RTI ACT)

To
The Central Public Information Officer,
Public Authority – B

Sir,

Whereas Mr/Ms _____________________, applied for

information which is not maintained by this public authority and this
public authority has reason to believe that the information sought by
the applicant is maintained by you or closely related with your
functions, the application with ID No.__________ dated _______ is
hereby transferred to you for necessary action.

Yours faithfully,

Copy to the Applicant (CPIO),Public Authority - A

4. NOTICE FOR PAYMENT OF FURTHER FEE

(u/s 7(3) of the RTI Act)

51
To,
The Applicant,
ID No. ________ Dated ______
1. Please refer to your application dated _________ seeking
information.
2. Considering the cost of resources employed, it is decided by this
authority that an amount of Rs __________ has to be paid by
you as further fee for supply of information sought by you. This
fee may be immediately paid by you failing which it shall be
treated as if you are not interested in pursuing your request.
Calculation sheet for the fee is attached as annexure.
3. As per section 18(1)(d) of the RTI Act, you can lodge a complaint
with the Central Information Commission at (address of the
Commission), in case you feel that the fee demanded from you is
unreasonable
4. You may also watch the web site (name of the site to be given)
from time to time to know about the status of his application.
(CPIO)
Tel No.
e-mail address,
Website

5. INTERNAL QUERY FOR ELICITING INFORMATION

To,

Concerned Officer, _______________

Mr/Ms ____________ filed an application seeking information

u/s 6 pf the RTI Act, 2005. This application is registered by this office
with ID No. _______. In this regard, you are required to furnish the
information as early as possible and in any case not later than
________. You may go through the application made by the applicant
(copy enclosed) and furnish the following details immediately.

1. Whether such information is maintained by you or not?

2. If yes, whether the fees paid is adequate or demand for
additional fees has to be made (your calculation should be
supported by details like cost of man hours, cost of media on
which the information is to be supplied etc).
3. If the information pertains or affects a third party, whether such
information can be disclosed or not (your reply should be
supported with reasons).

52
 4. If the third party information mentioned above can be disclosed,
name and address of the third party for the purpose of issue of
notice.
5. If the information is covered by exemption provisions u/s 8 or 9,
then details of the same.
6. Whether the applicant was provided with the same information
at any earlier point of time and
7. Whether same information was provided to any other person at
any point of time.

Your reply should reach this office within a day of the receipt of
this communication.

(CPIO)

6. REMINDER TO THE CONCERNED OFFICER

To,

Concerned Officer,

Mr/Ms ____________ filed an application seeking information

u/s 6 pf the RTI Act, 2005. This application is registered by this office
with ID No. _______. and was forwarded to you on ________. It is
noticed that you have not furnished the basic details that were sought
from you/have not furnished the information even after the lapse of __
days. The information has to be furnished to the applicant on or before
________.

You are required to furnish the details immediately by return of

post. You may be informed that if you fail to furnish the information,
you will be deemed as the CPIO u/s 5(5) for the purpose of levy of
penalty and initiation of disciplinary proceedings by the Central
Information Commission.

(CPIO)

7. ORDER FURNISHING INFORMATION (U/S 7(1) OF THE RTI

ACT):

53
To,
The Applicant,

ID No. ________ Dated ______,

1. Please refer to your application dated _________ seeking
information.
2. The information sought by you is provided with this order and
acknowledge receipt of information.
3. The information could not be supplied in the form as required by
you because it would lead to disproportionate diversion of
resources/is detrimental to the safety of the record in question
(strike out if not applicable)
(CPIO)
I received the information referred above
(Signature of the applicant with date)

8. NOTICE TO THE THIRD PARTY U/S 11(1) OF THE RTI ACT:

(to be issued within 5 days of the receipt of application)

To,

The Third Party,

An application with ID No. ______ seeking information u/s 6 pf

the RTI Act, 2005 has been filed with this office. Details of the
information sought are as
follows.__________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
____________________________________

Perusal of the application reveals that the information pertains to

you/is related to documents filed by you in the proceedings before the
Income Tax Department. This authority is willing to furnish the
information to the applicant and you are hereby granted an
opportunity of hearing u/s 11(1) of the RTI Act to state your objections
if any in oral or writing. A personal hearing is also fixed for this
purpose on _______ (within 10 days of the service of the notice) at
_____ at the office of the undersigned at ________________. If you
wish, you may appear at the hearing and present your case. In case of
failure on your part to file objection, it shall be deemed that you have

54
no objection for disclosure of the information to the applicant and
action will be taken as per law.

(CPIO)

Copy to the Applicant

9. ORDER OF REJECTION (U/S 7(1) OF THE RTI ACT):

To,
The Applicant,
___________

ID No. ________ Dated ______,

1. Please refer to your application dated _________ seeking
information.
2. After examination of your application, it is decided that your
request cannot be entertained because the information sought
by you is covered u/s 8/ u/s 9 of the Act for the following
reasons.
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
3. Your application is not accompanied by requisite fees/you have
not paid the additional fee as demanded even after
communication of the defect to you.
4. The information sought by you is related to third party,
________________ and the third party has objected for
disclosure of the information. Therefore, the same cannot be
furnished to you.
5. As per section 19(1) of the RTI Act, you can file appeal against
this order before the Appellate Authority (Name and address to
be given) within 30 days of the receipt of this order.
(strike out which is not applicable)
(CPIO)

10. ORDER OF PART DISCLOSURE (U/S 10(1) OF THE RTI

ACT):
To,
The Applicant,

55
ID No. ________ Dated ______,
1. Please refer to your application dated _________ seeking
information.
2. After examination of your application, it is decided that your
request cannot be entertained fully and only part of the
information can be provided for the following reasons.
______________________________________________________
_________
3. You are required to receive the information and furnish
acknowledgment for the same.
4. As per section 19(1) of the RTI Act, you can file appeal against
this order before the Appellate Authority (Name and address to
be given) within 30 days of the receipt of this order.
(CPIO)

12. FORM OF APPEAL TO BE FILED U/S 19(1) OF THE RTI

ACT:

To,

The Appellate Authority,

(CCIT/DGIT)

1) Name of the Applicant

2) Address
3) Particulars of the CPIO
4) Date of submission of application and application ID
5) Date on which 48 hours/30days/40 days (as applicable) are
over:
6) Date of receipt of order of CPIO, if any (certified copy of the
order shall be enclosed)

7) Reasons for appeal:

i) The information was not supplied in time
ii) The information was not as per the format mentioned in
the application
iii) The information is not correct
iv) The information is not complete
v) Excessive fee is demanded by the CPIO u/s 7(3) or any
other relevant section

56
 vi) This is an appeal by third party who is aggrieved against
proposed disclosure of information by the CPIO to the
applicant.
vii) Any other reason. Pl Specify
___________________________.
8) If there is any delay in filing the appeal, reasons for delay may
be given

____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
________________

(Appellant)

Acknowledgement:

Appeal ID No.__________ Dated ________

Received Appeal application from Mr/Ms __________, resident of

__________ u/s 19(1) of the RTI Act, 2005.

(Signature of the receipt clerk)

O/o Appellate Authority

Tel No, e-mail address & website address

********

57
 Chapter 14

XIV. MONITORING, REPORTING AND RAISING

AWARENESS

MONITORING AND REPORTING

As required under the RTI Act, each public authority has to

monitor the implementation of the Act in its domain. As per section 25
of the Act, it is also the duty of the authority to collect and provide
information to the Central Information Commission for the purpose of
preparation of report to the Parliament. Section 25(3) prescribes
details to be included in the report. To meet this requirement, each
CPIO has to capture and maintain the following data in computerized
format. Already CBDT has prescribed a quarterly report in this regard.

(a) the number of requests made to each CPIO (including those

received by CAPIOs)
(b) the number of decisions where applicants were not entitled to
access to the documents pursuant to the requests, the provisions
of this Act under which these decisions were made and the
number of times such provisions were invoked;
(c) the number of appeals referred to the Central Information
Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may
be, for review, the nature of the appeals and the outcome of the
appeals;
(d) particulars of any disciplinary action taken against any officer in

58
 respect of the administration of this Act;
(e) the amount of charges collected by each public authority under
this Act;
(f) any facts which indicate an effort by the public authorities to
administer and implement the spirit and intention of this Act;
(g) recommendations for reform, including recommendations in
respect of the particular public authorities, for the development,
improvement, modernisation, reform or amendment to this Act or
other legislation or common law or any other matter relevant for
operationalising the right to access information.

Recommended format of the data to be maintained by the CPIO

to prepare the report is given below:

S No ID No Date of Fee paid Further Date of If rejected,

Application fee paid furnishing section
/ rejection under which
rejected
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Whether a Whether Whether the Reasons Action Reason Date of filing
case of a case of information for non- taken for first of appeal
part third was not supply, if against appeal, if
disclosure party supplied at any any any and
all officer appeal no.
for delay
or non
supply
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Date of Action Reason for Date of Date of Action Reason for
appellate taken on second second appellate taken on third party
order appellate appeal, if appeal order appellate appeal, if
order any and order any and
appeal no. appeal no
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Date of Date of Action taken Amount of Disciplin-
third party appellate on appeal penalty, if ary
appeal order order any levied proceed-
by CIC ings, if
any
recomm-
ended by
CIC and
outcome

59
22 23 24 25 26

AWARENESS PROGRAMMES AND USER GUIDES

As per section 26 of the RTI Act, each public authority is also

bound to develop and organize awareness programmes to advance the
understanding of general public. Each public authority is also expected
to train CPIOs/CAPIOs in particular and other officers in general for
effective implementation of the RTI Act. Therefore, CCsIT/DGsIT may
conduct periodical training and awareness programmes on the RTI Act.

As mandated by section 26(2) of the Act, the Department is also

duty bound to publish a user guide within 18 months from the
commencement of the Act and also as mandated by section 26(3), the
guidelines shall be updated and published at regular intervals.

It is the duty of the CPIO to furnish information on demand by

applicants. In this context, it is worthwhile to remember that
information includes records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions,
advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts,
reports, papers, samples, models, data material etc. Information
also includes in its manifold, information related to any private body
which can be accessed by a public authority under any law. Right to
information includes the right to inspect works, documents, records,
take notes or extracts or certified copies of documents/records and
take certified samples of material.

*****

60
 Chapter 15

XV. FEATIRES OF THE RTI ACT 2005

DATE OF ENFORCEMENT:

 It comes into force on the 12th October, 2005 (120th day of

its enactment on 15th June, 2005). Some provisions have come
into force with immediate effect viz. obligations of public authorities
[S. 4(1)], designation of Public Information Officers and Assistant
Public Information Officers [S. 5(1) and 5(2)], constitution of
Central Information Commission [S.12 and 13], constitution of
State Information Commission [S.15 and 16], non-applicability of
the Act to Intelligence and Security Organizations [S.24] and power
to make rules to carry out the provisions of the Act [S.27 and 28].

COVERAGE:

 The Act extends to the whole of India except the State of

Jammu and Kashmir. [S. 1(2)].
 The right to seek information is limited only to citizens of
India [S. 3].

MEANING:

 Information means any material in any form including

records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press
releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers,
samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and

61
 information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a
public authority under any other law for the time being in force. [S.
2(f)].

 It includes the right to –

• inspect works, documents, records;
• take notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records;
• take certified samples of material;
• obtain information in form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video
cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts.
[S.2(j)]

OBLIGATIONS OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY:

 It shall publish within one hundred and twenty days of the

enactment:-

• the particulars of its organization, functions and duties;

• the powers and duties of its officers and employees;
• the procedure followed in its decision making process, including
channels of supervision and accountability;
• the norms set by it for the discharge of its functions;
• the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records used by
its employees for discharging its functions;
• a statement of the categories of the documents held or used by
it or under its control;
• the particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation
with, or representation by the members of the public, in relation to
the formulation of policy or implementation thereof;
• a statement of the boards, councils, committees and other
bodies consisting of two or more persons constituted by it.
Additionally, information as to whether the meetings of these are
open to the public, or the minutes' of such meetings are accessible
to the public;
• a directory of its officers and employees;
• the monthly remuneration received by each of its officers and
employees, including the system of compensation as provided in its
regulations;
• the budget allocated to each of its agency, indicating the
particulars of all plans, proposed expenditures and reports on
disbursements made;
• the manner of execution of subsidy programmes, including the
amounts allocated and the details and beneficiaries of such
programmes;

62
 • particulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorizations
granted by it;
• details of the information available to, or held by it, reduced in
an electronic form;
• the particulars of facilities available to citizens for obtaining
information, including the working hours of a library or reading
room, if maintained for public use;
• the names, designations and other particulars of the Public
Information Officers.[S.4(1)(b)]

EXEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE:

 The following is exempt from disclosure [S.8]

• information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the
sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific
or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or
lead to incitement of an offence;
• information which has been expressly forbidden to be published
by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may
constitute contempt of court;
• information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of
privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;
• information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or
intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the
competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority
is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such
information;
• information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship,
unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public
interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
• information received in confidence from foreign Government;
• information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or
physical safety of any person or identify the source of information
or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security
purposes;
• information which would impede the process of investigation or
apprehension or prosecution of offenders;
• cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of
Ministers, Secretaries and other officers;
• information which relates to personal information the disclosure
of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or
which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the
individual;

63
 • Notwithstanding any of the exemptions listed above, a public
authority may allow access to information, if public interest in
disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.
 Only that part of the record, which does not contain any
information that is exempt from disclosure and which can
reasonably be severed from any part that contains exempt
information, may be provided. [S.10]

MEANING OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY:

 It means any authority or body or institution of self-

government established or constituted: [S. 2(h)]

• by or under the Constitution;

• by any other law made by Parliament;
• by any other law made by State Legislature;
• by notification issued or order made by the appropriate
Government and includes any-

o body owned, controlled or substantially financed;

o non-Government organization substantially financed directly or
indirectly by the appropriate Government.

EXCLUDED AUTHORITIES:

 Central Intelligence and Security agencies specified in the

Second Schedule like IB, R&AW, Directorate of Revenue
Intelligence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Directorate of
Enforcement, Narcotics Control Bureau, Aviation Research Centre,
Special Frontier Force, BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF, NSG, Assam Rifles,
Special Service Bureau, Special Branch (CID), Andaman and
Nicobar, the Crime Branch-CID-CB, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and
Special Branch, Lakshadweep Police are excluded from the purview
of the Act. Agencies specified by the State Governments through a
Notification will also be excluded.
 The exclusion, however, is not absolute.
 Even the above organizations have an obligation to provide
information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights
violations. Further, information relating to allegations of human
rights violations could be given but only with the approval of the
Central or State Information Commission, as the case may be.
[S.24)]

64
THIRD PARTY:

 A third party means a person other than the citizen making a

request for information and includes a public authority. Third parties
have a right to be heard in respect of applications and appeals
dealing with information submitted by them to the Government in
confidence. [S. 2(n) and S.11]

PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS (PIOs):

 PIOs are officers designated by the public authorities in all

administrative units or offices under it to provide information to the
citizens requesting for information under the Act. Any officer, whose
assistance has been sought by the PIO for the proper discharge of
his or her duties, shall render all assistance and for the purpose of
contraventions of the provisions of this Act, such other officer shall
be treated as a PIO.

DUTIES OF PIOs:

 PIO shall deal with requests from persons seeking information

and where the request cannot be made in writing, to render
reasonable assistance to the person to reduce the same in writing.
 If the information requested for is held by or its subject
matter is closely connected with the function of another public
authority, the PIO shall transfer, within 5 days, the request to that
other public authority and inform the applicant immediately.
 PIO may seek the assistance of any other officer for the
proper discharge of his/her duties, such other officer will be treated
as PIO.
 PIO, on receipt of a request, shall as expeditiously as
possible, and in any case within 30 days of the receipt of the
request, either provide the information on payment of such fee as
may be prescribed or reject the request for any of the reasons
specified in S.8 & S.9.
 Where the information requested for concerns the life or
liberty of a person, the same shall be provided within forty-eight
hours of the receipt of the request.
 If the PIO fails to give decision on the request within the
period specified, he shall be deemed to have refused the request.
 Where a request has been rejected, the PIO shall
communicate to the requester - (i) the reasons for such rejection,

65
 (ii) the period within which an appeal against such rejection may be
preferred, and (iii) the particulars of the Appellate Authority.
 PIO shall provide information in the form in which it is sought
unless it would disproportionately divert the resources of the Public
Authority or would be detrimental to the safety or preservation of
the record in question.
 If partial access is allowed, the PIO shall give a notice to the
applicant, informing:

• that only part of the record requested, after severance of the

record containing information which is exempt from disclosure, is
being provided;
• the reasons for the decision, including any findings on any
material question of fact, referring to the material on which those
findings were based;
• the name and designation of the person giving the decision;
• the details of the fees calculated by him or her and the amount
of fee which the applicant is required to deposit; and
• his or her rights with respect to review of the decision regarding
non-disclosure of part of the information, the amount of fee charged
or the form of access provided.
• If information sought has been supplied by third party or is
treated as confidential by that third party, the PIO shall give a
written notice to the third party within 5 days from the receipt of
the request and take its representation into consideration.
• Third party must be given a chance to make a representation
before the PIO within 10 days from the date of receipt of such
notice.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

 Apply in writing or through electronic means in English or Hindi or in

the official language of the area, to the PIO, specifying the
particulars of the information sought for.
 Reason for seeking information are not required to be given.
 Pay fees as may be prescribed (if not belonging to the below
poverty line category).
 If the applicant is not in a position to reduce the application for
information to writing (due to disability or for any other reason), the
PIO shall render all assistance to the applicant to reduce the
application to writing.

66
TIME LIMIT TO GET INFORMATION:

 30 days from the date of application

 48 hours for information concerning the life and liberty of a
person
 5 days shall be added to the above response time, in case the
application seeking information is filed before the Assistant Public
Information Officer.
 If the interests of a third party are involved then the time
limit will be 40 days (maximum period + time given to the party to
make representation).
 Failure to provide information within the specified period is a
deemed refusal.

APPLICATION FEE:

 Application fees to be prescribed which must be reasonable. DOPT is

preparing rules in this regard;
 If further fees are required, then the same must be intimated in
writing with calculation details of how the figure was arrived at;
 Applicant can seek review of the decision on fees charged by the
PIO by applying to the appropriate Appellate Authority;
 No fees will be charged from people living below the poverty line;
 Information must be provided free of cost to the applicant, if the
PIO fails to supply information with the time limit prescribed under
the Act.

GROUNDS FOR REJECTION:

 If it is covered by exemption from disclosure. (S.8)

 If it infringes copyright of any person other than the State. (S.9)

APPELLATE AUTHORITIES:

 First Appeal: First appeal to the officer senior in rank to the PIO in
the concerned Public Authority within 30 days from the expiry of the
prescribed time limit or from the receipt of the decision (delay may
be condoned by the Appellate Authority if sufficient cause is
shown).
 Second Appeal: Second appeal to the Central Information
Commission or the State Information Commission as the case may
be, within 90 days of the date on which the decision was given or

67
 should have been made by the First Appellate Authority. (delay may
be condoned by the Commission if sufficient cause is shown).
 Third Party appeal against PIO's decision must be filed within 30
days before first Appellate Authority; and, within 90 days of the
decision on the first appeal, before the appropriate Information
Commission, which is the second appellate authority.
 Burden of proving that denial of information was justified lies with
the PIO.
 First Appeal shall be disposed of within 30 days from the date of its
receipt. Period extendable by 15 days if necessary. (S.19)

CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION:

 Central Information Commission to be constituted by the

Central Government through a Gazette Notification.
 Commission includes one Chief Information Commissioner
(CIC) and not more than ten Information Commissioners (IC) who
will be appointed by the President of India.
 Oath of Office will be administered by the President of India
according to the form set out in the First Schedule.
 Commission shall have its Headquarters in Delhi. Other offices
may be established in other parts of the country with the approval
of the Central Government.
 Commission will exercise its powers without being subjected
to directions by any other authority. (S.12)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

 Candidates for CIC/IC must be persons of eminence in public

life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and
technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or
administration and governance.
 CIC/IC shall not be a Member of Parliament or Member of the
Legislature of any State or Union Territory. He shall not hold any
other office of profit or connected with any political party or
carrying on any business or pursuing any profession. (S.12)
 Appointment Committee includes Prime Minister (Chair),
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and one Union Cabinet
Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister.

68
TERM OF OFFICE OF CIC:

 CIC shall be appointed for a term of 5 years from date on

which he enters upon his office or till he attains the age of 65 years,
whichever is earlier.
 CIC is not eligible for reappointment.
 Salary will be the same as that of the Chief Election
Commissioner. This will not be varied to the disadvantage of the
CIC during service. (S.13)

TERM OF OFFICE OF ICs:

 IC shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on
which he enters upon his office or till he attains the age of sixty-five
years, whichever is earlier and shall not be eligible for
reappointment as IC.
 Salary will be the same as that of the Election Commissioner.
This will not be varied to the disadvantage of the IC during service.
 IC is eligible for appointment as CIC but will not hold office for
more than a total of five years including his/her term as IC. (S.13)

STATE INFORMATION COMMISSIONS:

 The State Information Commission will be constituted by the

State Government through a Gazette notification. It will have one
State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC) and not more than
ten State Information Commissioners (SIC) to be appointed by the
Governor.
 Oath of office will be administered by the Governor according
to the form set out in the First Schedule.
 The headquarters of the State Information Commission shall
be at such place as the State Government may specify. Other
offices may be established in other parts of the State with the
approval of the State Government.
 The Commission will exercise its powers without being
subjected to any other authority.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

 The Appointments Committee will be headed by the Chief

Minister. Other members include the Leader of the Opposition in the
Legislative Assembly and one Cabinet Minister nominated by the
Chief Minister.

69
  The qualifications for appointment as SCIC/CIC shall be the
same as that for Central Commissioners.
 The salary of the State Chief Information Commissioner will
be the same as that of an Election Commissioner. The salary of the
State Information Commissioner will be the same as that of the
Chief Secretary of the State Government. (S.15)

POWERS & FUNCTIONS OF INFORMATION COMMISSIONS:

 The Central Information Commission/State Information

Commission has a duty to receive complaints from any person -

o who has not been able to submit an information request

because a PIO has not been appointed ;
o who has been refused information that was requested;
o who has received no response to his/her information
request within the specified time limits ;
o who thinks the fees charged are unreasonable ;
o who thinks information given is incomplete or false or
misleading and
o any other matter relating to obtaining information under
this law.
 Both commissions have the power to order inquiry if
there are reasonable grounds.
 Both have powers of Civil Court such as -
o summoning and enforcing attendance of
persons, compelling them to give oral or written evidence on oath
and to produce documents or things;
o requiring the discovery and inspection of
documents;
o receiving evidence on affidavit ;
o requisitioning public records or copies from any
court or office
o issuing summons for examination of witnesses
or documents
o any other matter which may be prescribed.
 All records covered by this law (including
those covered by exemptions) must be given to the Commissions
during inquiry for examination.
 Power to secure compliance of its
decisions from the Public Authority includes-
o providing access to information in a
particular form;

70
 o directing the public authority to
appoint a PIO/APIO where none exists;
o publishing information or
categories of information;
o making necessary changes to the
practices relating to management, maintenance and destruction of
records;
o enhancing training provision for
officials on RTI;
o seeking an annual report from the
public authority on compliance with this law;
o require it to compensate for any
loss or other detriment suffered by the applicant ;
o impose penalties under this law; or
o reject the application. (S.18 and
S.19)

REPORTING PROCEDURE:

 Central Information Commission will send an annual report to

the Central Government on the implementation of the provisions of
this law at the end of the year. The State Information Commission
will send a report to the State Government.
 Each Ministry has a duty to compile reports from its Public
Authorities and send them to the Central Information Commission
or State Information Commission, as the case may be.
 Each report will contain details of number of requests received
by each Public Authority, number of rejections and appeals,
particulars of any disciplinary action taken, amount of fees and
charges collected etc.
 Central Government will table the Central Information
Commission report before Parliament after the end of each year.
The concerned State Government will table the report of the State
Information Commission before the Vidhan Sabha (and the Vidhan
Parishad wherever applicable). (S.25)

PENALTY PROVISIONS:

 Every PIO will be liable to pay fine of Rs. 250 per day, up to a
maximum of Rs. 25,000/-, for -
• not accepting an application;
• delaying release of information without reasonable cause;
• malafide denial of information;

71
 • knowingly giving incomplete, incorrect, misleading information;
• destroying information that has been requested and
• obstructing furnishing of information in any manner.

 The Information Commission (IC) at the Centre and the State levels
will have the power to impose this penalty. The Information
Commission can also recommend disciplinary action for violation of
the law against an erring PIO. (S.20)
 The penalty amount will be recovered from the salary of the erring
PIO

PROTECTION FOR BONAFIDE ACTIONS AND JURISDICTION

OF COURTS:

 When an action is taken or intended to be taken by a person under

the Act in good faith, he/she is protected from
suits/prosecutions/any other legal proceedings [S. 21]
 Lower Courts are barred from entertaining suits or applications
against any order made under this Act. (S.23) However, the writ
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and High Courts under Articles 32
and 225 of the Constitution remains unaffected.

ACT TO OVERRIDE OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT OR PROVISIONS

OF ANY OTHER LAW WHICH ARE INCONSISTENT WITH
THIS ACT:

 The provisions of this Act shall override the provisions of the

Official Secrets Act, 1923, and any other law for the time being in
force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other
than this Act, wherever such provisions are inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act.

ROLE OF CENTRAL/STATE GOVERNMENTS:

 Develop educational programmes for the public, especially

disadvantaged communities, on RTI.
 Encourage Public Authorities to participate in the development
and organization of such programmes.
 Promote timely dissemination of accurate information to the
public.
 Train officers and develop training materials.
 Compile and disseminate a User Guide for the public in the
respective official language.

72
  Publish names, designation postal addresses and contact
details of PIOs and other information such as notices regarding fees
to be paid, remedies available in law if request is rejected etc.
(S.26)

RULE MAKING POWER:

 Central Government, State Governments and the

Competent Authority as defined in S.2(e) are vested with powers to
make rules to carry out the provisions of the Right to Information
Act, 2005. (S.27 & S.28)
 If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions in
the Act, the Central Government may, by Order published in the
Official Gazette, make provisions necessary/expedient for removing
the difficulty. (S.30)

*******

ANNEXURE – I : UN PRINCIPLES ON FREEDOM OF

INFORMATION

• Public bodies have an obligation to disclose information and

every member of the public has a corresponding right to receive
information; "information" includes all records held by a public
body, regardless of the form in which it is stored;
• Freedom of information implies that public bodies publish and
disseminate widely documents of significant public interest, for
example, operational information about how the public body
functions and the content of any decision or policy affecting the
public;
• As a minimum, the law on freedom of information should make
provision for public education and the dissemination of information
regarding the right to have access to information; the law should

73
 also provide for a number of mechanisms to address the problem of
a culture of secrecy within Government;
• A refusal to disclose information may not be based on the aim to
protect Governments from embarrassment or the exposure of
wrongdoing; a complete list of the legitimate aims which may
justify non disclosure should be provided in the law and exceptions
should be narrowly drawn so as to avoid including material which
does not harm the legitimate interest;
• All public bodies should be required to establish open, accessible
internal systems for ensuring the public's right to receive
information; the law should provide for strict time limits for the
processing of requests for information and require that any refusals
be accompanied by substantive written reasons for the refusal(s);
• The cost of gaining access to information held by public bodies
should not be so high as to deter potential applicants and negate
the intent of the law itself;
• The law should establish a presumption that all meetings of
governing bodies are open to the public;
• The law should require that other legislation be interpreted, as
far as possible, in a manner consistent with its provisions; the
regime for exceptions provided for in the freedom of information
law should be comprehensive and other laws should not be
permitted to extend it;
• Individuals should be protected from any legal, administrative or
employment related sanctions for releasing information on
wrongdoing, viz. the commission of a criminal offence or
dishonesty, failure to comply with a legal obligation, a miscarriage
of justice, corruption or dishonesty or serious failures in the
administration of a public body.

ANNEXURE – II: VIEWS OF COMMONWEALTH HUMAN

RIGHTS INITIATIVE ON RIGHT TO INFORMATION

• Accords it sufficient importance, as being inherent to democratic

functioning and a pre-condition to good governance and the
realisation of all other human rights.
• Becomes part of the accepted international obligations of the
state. This means that the right to access information attracts the
guarantee of protection by the state.
• Distances it from being merely an administrative measure by
which information is gifted by governments to their people at their
discretion since a legally enforceable right cannot be narrowed or
ignored at the whim of government.

74
 • Creates a duty-holder on the one hand and a beneficiary of a
legal entitlement on the other. Non-disclosure of information is
therefore a violation and the beneficiary can seek legal remedy.
• Signals that information belongs to the public and not
government. The idea that everything is secret unless there is a
strong reason for releasing it is replaced by the idea that all
information is available unless there are strong reasons for denying
it. The onus is on the duty-holder to prove its case for refusing to
disclose documents.
• Sets a higher standard of accountability.
• Gives citizens the legal power to attack the legal and institutional
impediments to openness and accountability that still dominate the
operations of many governments. It moves the locus of control
from the state to the citizen, reinstating the citizen as sovereign.

******

ANNEXURE – III: TEXT OF PM'S INTERVENTION IN

THE LOK SABHA ON THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION
BILL DEBATE ON MAY 11, 2005 NEW DELHI

THE PRIME MINISTER (DR. MANMOHAN SINGH):

Mr. Speaker Sir, I am very grateful to you for granting me

permission to intervene on a very important and critical Bill, which is
before this august House.

Sir, all modern societies or complex societies, they require

strong and purposeful Government to steer them. In our own country,
Government expenditure, both at the Central level and at the level of
State and local bodies, accounts for nearly 33 per cent of our gross

75
National Product. At the same time, the social and economic
imperatives require our Government to intervene extensively in
economic and social affairs. Therefore, the efficiency and effectiveness
of Governmental processes are critical variables, which will determine
how our Government function and to what extent it is able to
discharge the responsibilities entrusted to us by the electorate.

I have always believed – all power is a sacred societal trust –

that you cannot sit on power, you have to spend it, but you must
spend it taking into account the good of the largest number of people.
Therefore, it becomes obligatory that in addition to processes that we
have to determine that expenditure confirms with the canons of
efficiency and effectiveness. We all know that there are widespread
complaints in our country about wastefulness of expenditure, about
corruption in matters, which have relations with the functioning of our
Government. Therefore, it is very important that we must explore new
effective mechanisms to ensure that our Government will effectively,
purposefully and efficiently discharge the responsibilities entrusted to
it. This is the guiding spirit behind this new momentous measure that
is now before this august House, that is, the Right to Information Bill.

Sir, the key to the successful functioning of any democratic polity

is the ability of a citizen to observe and evaluate the functioning of
elected representative and make an informed judgment of their
performance. This evaluation is predicated on the easy availability of
the necessary information for a citizen to arrive at an assessment.
Further, out founding fathers have established an elaborate system of
rights and obligations, a system of checks and balances, a system with
clear division of powers at different levels of Government. This
complex web, further translated into practice by our laws, procedures,
policies and programmes, is the foundation of our rich, varied and
vibrant polity which has earned the respect of the whole world for our
ability to harmoniously match the goals of economic development and
a pluralistic democratic society.

Sir, at the center of this intricate web is the common man, the
‘aam aadmi’, whose prosperity and welfare is the core concern of our
Constitution. It is this common man or common woman who is the
fulcrum of our democratic system, as an observer, as the seeker of
information, as the one who asks relevant questions, as the analyst
and as the final judge of our performance.

The UPA Government has made a commitment, not only to work

for the welfare of the common man, but also to strengthen his or her

76
role as the arbiter of our destiny. It is in this background that our
Government has introduced the Right to Information Bill, and the
subsequent amendments in this august House.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, efficient and effective institutions are the key
to rapid economic and social development, institutions which can
translate promises into policies and actionable programmes with the
least possible cost and with the maximum possible efficiency;
institutions which can deliver on the promises made and convert, as
the hon. Finance Minister pointed out a few days ago while presenting
the Budget, “outlays into outcomes”. For institutions to be efficient and
effective, they must function in a transparent, response and
accountable manner. This is dependent not only on processes internal
to the institutions but also on the ability of citizens and external agents
to enforce their rights, vis-à-vis these very institutions. The Right to
Information Bill, Sir, will bring into force another right which will
empower the citizen in this regard and ensure that our institutions and
their functionaries discharge their duties in the desired manner. It will;
bring into effect a critical right for enforcing other rights and fill a vital
gap in a citizen’s framework of rights.

Sir, while there is an existing Freedom of Information Act, the

Bill now under consideration is more far-reaching and effective and I
am very grateful to the National Advisory Council presided over by
Shrimati Sonia Gandhi for having played a very important role in
bringing into focus what are the major drawbacks in the previous
legislation. The Bill that we have presented has the widest possible
reach, covering the Central and the State Governments, Panchayati
Raj institutions, local bodies as well as recipients of Government
grants. Access to information under this Bill is extensive with minimum
exemptions, which too can be over-ridden on the basis of a public
benefit test, namely when the benefit of release of information
outweighs the harm caused by disclosure of information.

However, I think that we should also consider exempting such

information, the disclosure of which may result in breach of privilege of
Parliament or a State Legislature. Even security and intelligence
agencies, which are otherwise exempt, are subject to disclosure in
cases of allegations of corruption or violation of human rights.

The Bill lays down an architecture for assessing information,

which is simple, easy, time-bound and inexpensive. It has stringent
penalties for failing to provide information or affecting information flow

77
in any way. In fact, it imposes obligations on agencies to disclose
information suo motu, thus reducing the cost of access.

Sir, an important feature is the independent appeal mechanism

proposed through the appointment of Central and State Information
Commissioners. This independent appeal mechanism, coupled with
extensive disclosure obligations and stringent penalties, gives teeth to
the right, making the right a potent instrument for good governance.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, many hon. Members have, during the

discussion on the Bill, raised many concerns and questions. They will
be answered by the Minister of State, Shri Suresh Pachauri. I would
only like to see that everyone, particularly our civil servants, should
see the Bill in a positive spirit; not as a draconian law for paralyzing
Government, but as an instrument for improving Government-citizen
interface resulting in a friendly, caring and effective Government
functioning for the good of our people.

Sir, it is with this in mind that we have removed the penalty of

imprisonment through this Amendment. However, erring officials
would still be subject to departmental proceedings. I appeal all civil
servants to see this Bill in the right spirit and hope they will only be
spurred towards better performance. After all, we, the elected
representative of people, bow to the wishes of people and have come
to no harm. So will it be with honest, hard working civil servants.

I would like State Governments to take the initiative and

establish State Information Commissions. The bulk of our citizens’
interface is with agencies under State Governments and hence the
success of this Bill depends on their determination and their
commitment to implement and generate awareness in the country at
large.

Sir, our work will not end with the passage of this Bill. This is an
innovative Bill, where there will be scope to review its functioning as
we gain experience. Therefore, this is a piece of legislation, whose
working will be kept under constant reviews. We will need to have a
sustained effort to establish institutions and systems envisaged under
the Bill, to build the capacity or our civil servants to discharge their
obligations and above all, inform our citizens about the new rights
conferred on them.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I believe that the passage of this Bill will see the
dawn of a new era in our processes of governance, an era of

78
performance and efficiency, an ear which will ensure that benefits of
growth flow to all sections of our people, an era which will eliminate
the scourge of corruption, an era which will bring the common man’s
concern to the heart of all processes of governance, an era which will
truly fulfill the hopes of the founding fathers of our Republic.

Thank you.

*****

ANNEXURE - IV: LETTER FROM DOM&S

F.No.50/1/2005-WS/DOMS
Government of India,
Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue,
Directorate of Income Tax (O&MS)
ANIL KUMAR SINGH Level-5, East Block-2, R.K. Puram.
DIRECTOR OF INCOME TAX New Delhi - 110066
Tel. Nos. : 011 - 26197238, 26185607
Fax Nos. : 011 - 26160206 & 26103175

DATED : 10-08-2005

To
All Chief Commissioners of Income Tax

79
 All Directors General of Income Tax

Sub: Implementation of the ‘The Right to Information Act, 2005’ in the

Income Tax Department.

Sir/Madam,

‘The Right to Information Act, 2005’ has been passed by the

Parliament and has received the assent of the President of India on
15th June, 2005. It comes into force w.e.f. 12th of October, 2005.
However, Section 4&5 and some other Sections dealing with setting up
of machinery for implementation of the Act have come into operation
with immediate effect. A copy of the said Act is enclosed.

2. As per Section 4(1)(b) of the Act, the specified details are

required to be published before 12th October, 2005 so that public have
minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information. The
Central Public Information Officers/Central Assistant Public Information
Officers (CPIOs/CAPIOs) are also to be designated before 22nd
September 2005 (within 100 days from 15th June, 2005) to facilitate
dissemination of information.

3. All CCITs/DGITs (including Cadre Controlling CCITs) are

requested to take the following action :-

i Designation of CPIOs/CAPIOs/Appellate Authorities:

The PIOs/APIOs and their respective Appellate Authorities would

be designated (by designation) as per structure given at Annexure-I by
the following :-

a) The concerned DGIT for Directorates (attached

offices of CBDT) would designate DITs working under
him/her as CPIOs. He/She would be the Appellate
Authority in respect of these CPIOs.
b) The
CCIT/DGIT(Investigation)/DGIT(International Taxation),
for their own office, would designate an officer working in
Headquarters as CPIO. In addition, he/she would also
designate all CITs/DITs including CITs(Central),

80
 CITs(Appeal), CITs(DR) in ITAT/ITSC working under
him/her as CPIOs. He/she would be the Appellate
Authority for these CPIOs. At stations where there is no
PIO, the senior-most officer lookingafter Administration
would be designated as CAPIO to receive and forward
applications to the concerned CPIO.
c) DG, NADT would designate Addl.DG(Admn) as
CPIO for information pertaining to NADT. She would also
designate all DITs(RTIs) as CPIOs for information
pertaining to respective RTIs/MSTUs. She would be the
Appellate Authority for all these CPIOs. At stations where
there are only MSTUs, the officer incharge of MSTU would
be designated as CAPIO to receive and forward
applications to the concerned CPIO.
d) As regards Valuation Wing, the respective
Controlling CCIT would designate District Valuation
Officer(s) under him as CPIO(s). The Appellate Authority
in the case of these CPIOs would be the concerned
CCIT/DGIT in respect of whose Charge the information
pertains. However, for information pertaining to
Administrative matters the Appellate Authority would be
the controlling CCIT of the respective DVO. In the offices
of Valuation Wing where there is no DVO, the Valuation
Officer would be designated as CAPIO to receive and
forward applications to the concerned CPIO.

Such lists would be forwarded to the Cadre Controlling CCITs for

preparing a consolidated list of CPIOs/CAPIOs and their respective
Appellate Authorities. The Charge-wise List of the CPIOs/CAPIOs
should be prominently displayed preferably at Reception area of all the
office buildings of the Region. However, the DGIT’s incharge of
Directorates (attached offices of CBDT) and DG, NADT [as mentioned
as (a) and (c) above would perform these functions independently]

ii) Maintenance of records :

Maintain all records in a manner and form that facilitates the right to
information under 4(1)(a) of the Act.

iii) Preparation of details of publication :

Prepare the details, required to be published, under item nos. viii), ix),
xv), xvi) & xvii) and forward the same to the Cadre Controlling CCITs
for publishing/uploading on website (ref:Annexure-II).

81
iv) Spreading awareness :

Bring about awareness amongst all the officers/employees of the

Income Tax Department to generate common spirit for implementing
the said Act.

v) Monitoring by CBDT

Send a fortnightly progress report to Cadre Controlling CCIT so that

the same could be compiled
and sent to CBDT by them. For this purpose, the CBDT has already
constituted a Committee to monitor the progress of implementation of
the Act (Refer Annexure - III).

4. In view of the foregoing, all Cadre Controlling CCITs including

DGITs [other than DGIT (Investigations)] are requested to
immediately initiate the following steps :-

i) Consolidate & publish necessary information as required under

Section 4(1)(b) of the Act with reference to items viii), ix), xi), xv),
xvi) & xvii). The action on other items of Section 4(1)(b) is being
looked after centrally by a Committee headed by Shri Hardayal Singh,
CCIT-II, Delhi & consisting of DIT(Systems) & DIT(RSP&PR) as
members (Refer Annexure - II).

ii) Consolidate and publish the details of the Central Public

Information Officers/Central Assistant Public Information Officers and
respective appellate authorities as per the enclosed structure
(Annexure - I) after receipt of such information.
iii) Send a consolidate list of CPIOs/CAPIOs to DIT(Systems) for
uploading on the website of the Department with a copy to this
Directorate for information.

iv) Constitute a Core Team of trainers that would impart training to

the CPIOs/CAPIOs in their Region. The training should ordinarily be
held at the places where CCITs/DGITs are stationed.

v) Send a consolidated fortnightly progress report of the entire

Region to CBDT (Refer Annexure - III).

5. The Rules regarding the fee to be charged for dissemination of

the information etc. are being framed by the Ministry of Personnel,

82
Public Grievances & Pensions and would be communicated by this
Directorate in due course.

6. For clarifications, if any, kindly contact the undersigned.

Yours faithfully,

Sd/-
( ANIL KUMAR SINGH )
Director of Income Tax (O&MS)

Copy to :

Chairman/Members of CBDT
All Directorates of the Board
All Officers/Sections of the Board
Chief Engineers, Valuation Cell

ANNEXURE - I
Structure of CPIOs/CAPIOs

S.No. Office CPIO Appellate Authority

1 CBDT Joint Secretary (Admn.) Member
(for information pertaining to (Personnel)
Administrative matters)

Director (ITCC) Member (Revenue)

(for information pertaining to
technical matters)
2 All DITs Concerned DGIT
Directorates (for information pertaining to
(Attached concerned Directorates)
offices of
CBDT)
3 CCITs/DGITs Any of the officers working in the Concerned
Headquarters CCIT/DGIT
(for information pertaining to O/o
CCIT/DGIT)
4 CITs/DITs CIT/DIT/ CIT(Appeals)/ Concerned
CIT(Central) CCIT/DGIT
CIT (DR)-ITAT/ITSC
(for information pertaining to
their charge/field offices)

83
5 NADT (i) Addl. DG(Admn) DG, NADT
(for information pertaining to
NADT)

(ii) DITs (RTI)

(for information pertaining to DG, NADT
RTIs/MSTUs)
6 Valuation District Valuation Officers (DVOs) CCIT/DGIT
Wing concerned with the
(for information pertaining to subject matter
Valuation Wing) (technical)
Controlling CCIT
for information
pertaining to
Administrative
matters.
Note : At field stations where there is no CPIO, the CCITs/DGITs would
designate the senior-most officer incharge of Administration as CAPIO
for the purpose of receiving and forwarding applications to the
concerned CPIOs.

ANNEXURE - II

INFORMATION TO BE PUBLISHED U/S 4(1)(b) OF RIGHT OF

INFORMATION ACT, 2005

Section 4(1)(b) of Right of Information Act requires public

authorities to publish certain information within 120 days (i.e. by 12th
October, 2005) For this purpose, a Committee headed by Sri Hardayal
Singh, CCIT-II, Delhi with DIT(Systems) and DIT(RSP&PR) has been
constituted. This Committee would look after those items under
Section 4(1)(b) which are to be published centrally.

The items that are required to be published under Section 4(1)

(b) of the Act along with action required to be taken on each item are
as follows :-

(i) The particulars of its organisation, functions and duties

(ii) The powers and duties of its officers and employees

(iii) The procedure followed in the decision-making process including

channels of supervision and accountability.

84
 Items (i) to (iii) shall be published centrally]

(iv) The norms set by it for the discharge of its functions

The norms under which the Department functions are specified

in all its Acts/Rules already published. No further action is required in
the matter.

(v) The rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records, held

by it or under its control or used by its employees for discharging its
functions

(vi) A statement of the categories of documents that are held by it or

under its control.

(vii) The particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation

with, or representation by the members of the public in relation to the
formulation of its policy or implementation thereof.

[Items (v) to vii) shall be published centrally]

(viii) A statement of the boards, councils, committees and other

bodies consisting of two or more persons constituted as its part or for
the purpose of its advice, and as to whether meetings of those boards,
councils, committees and other bodies are open to the public, or the
minutes of such meetings are accessible for public

The list of all Central/State/Regional Advisory Committees would

be published/uploaded on Website along with its latest minutes as far
as possible
[Action:Dir(ITCC, CBDT / Cadre Controlling CCITs/DGITs/

DIT(RSP&PR) / DIT(Systems)]

(ix) A directory of its officers and employees

Each Cadre Controlling CCIT would publish a list of employees

locally and would send the same to DIT(Systems) for uploading
on website. In respect of CBDT and directorates, DIT(RSP&PR)
would publish the same and DIT(Systems) would upload it on the
Website.

[Action: Cadre Controlling CCITs/DGITs/

85
DIT(RSP&PR) / DIT(Systems)]

(x) The monthly remuneration received by each of its officers and

employees, including the system of compensation as provided in its
regulations

Keeping in view the very large employee strength of the Income

Tax Department, the Sanctioned/Working Strength of each Cadre
indicating their pay-scales could be published centrally by
DIT(RSP&PR) and uploaded by DIT(Systems) on the Website

[ Shall be published centrally]

(xi) The budget allocated to each of its agency, indicating the

particulars of all plans, proposed expenditures and reports on
disbursements made

Cadre Controlling CCITs should publish expenditure budget-

allocation CIT-wise and also send it to DIT(Systems) for
uploading on website. The attached offices of the CBDT will also
provide similar information to DIT(RSP&PR) and DIT(Systems).

[Action: Cadre Controlling CCITs/DGITs/

DIT(RSP&PR) / DIT(Systems)]

(xii) The manner of execution of subsidy programmes, including the

amounts allocated and thedetails of beneficiaries of such programmes

As the item is not relevant to the Income Tax Department, no

action to be taken for publishing such information.

(xiii) Particulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorisations

granted by it

As the item is not relevant to the Income Tax Department, no

action to be taken for publishing such information

(xiv) Details in respect of the information, available to or held by it,

reduced in an electronic form

[ Shall be published centrally]

86
(xv) The particulars of facilities available to citizens for obtaining
information, including the working hours of a library or reading
room, if maintained for public use

The Website of the Income Tax Department is a facility available

to the citizens for obtaining information. In addition, the Cadre
Controlling CCITs would publish the facilities available locally.

[Action: Cadre Controlling CCITs/DGITs / DIT(Systems)]

(xvi) The names, designations and other particulars of the Public

Information Officers

As per the structure of CPIOs/CAPIOs given in Annexure-I, the

respective CCITs/DGITs would designate CPIOs/CAPIOs. The
particulars of such CPIOs alongwith their appellate authorities shall be
communicated to Cadre Controlling CCITs for publishing it locally.
Cadre Controlling CCITs will send such list to CBDT for information & to
DIT(RSP&PR)/DIT(Systems) for publication/uploading on Website,

[Action: Cadre Controlling CCITs/DGITs/

DIT(RSP&PR) / DIT(Systems)]

(xvii) Such other information as may be prescribed; and thereafter

update these publications every year

The DIT(Systems) would be responsible to see that the website

of the Department gets regularly updated. The Cadre Controlling
CCITs would be responsible for updation of local linkages being
provided on the Website by DIT(System). DIT(RSP&PR) would ensure
that wherever central printing/publishing is involved, the information
should be updated at regular intervals as per the requirements of the
Act.

[Action: Cadre Controlling CCITs/DGITs/

DIT(RSP&PR) / DIT(Systems)]

ANNEXURE - III
F.No.402/9/2005-ITCC
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue

87
 Central Revenue of Direct Taxes

New Delhi, dated the 2nd August, 2005

Subject: Setting up of Committee in CBDT to monitor the progress of

implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 -

In pursuance of Coordination Section’s O.M.No.12/12/2005-

Coord. dated 27th July, 2005, a Committee is hereby constituted to
monitor the progress the implementation of Right to Information (RTI)
Act, 2005 within CBDT as well as in the Income Tax Department. The
constitution of the Committee will be as under :-

1. Member (Revenue) - Chairman

2. Director( ITA-II) - Member (for West Zone &
Mumbai)
3. Director (TPL-III) - Member (for North Zone)
4. Director (IT-Budget) - Member (for South Zone)
5. Director (PAC) - Member (for East Zone)
6. Director (Inv.II & III) - Member for [DG(Inv.)/CC(C)]
7. Director (ITCC) - Member (for CBDT)

2. The Committee shall meet at least once a week to monitor the

implementation of the RTI Act in the CBDT as well as all the Zones.

3. The Committee will call for a weekly report from the Cadre
Controlling CCsIT/DGsIT on the progress of implementation of the Act
in their respective Regions.

4. The Committee will send the fortnightly report to the Department

of Revenue on the progress of implementation, which needs to be sent
to Ministry of Personnel, P.G. & Pensions.

Sd/-
( Pushkar Bhatnagar)
OSD(ITCC)
Officers concerned.
Copy for information to :-

1. Chairman & Members, CBDT

2. All Cadre Controlling CCs/DGsIT
3. Director(Coord.) w.r.t. Letter F.No.12/12/2005-Coord,(Pt.I)
dated 27th July, 2005.
Sd/-

88
 ( Pushkar Bhatnagar)
OSD(ITCC)

******

ANNEXURE - V: AUTHORITIES ENTRUSTED WITH

RESPONPOSIBILITY OF PUBLICATION OF
INFORMATION u/s 4(1)(b)

Authority entrusted
S. No Description of the Information with responsibility of
publication
the particulars of its organization, To be published
1
functions and duties; centrally by Board
the powers and duties of its officers and
2 ---do---
employees;
the procedure followed in the decision
3 making process, including channels of ---do---
supervision and accountability;

89
 Already available in
the norms set by it for the discharge of its
4 Acts/Rules
functions;
the rules, regulations, instructions, To be published
manuals and records, held by it or under centrally by Board
5
its control or used by its employees for
discharging its functions;
a statement of the categories of To be published
6 documents that are held by it or under its centrally by Board
control;
the particulars of any arrangement that To be published
exists for consultation with, or centrally by Board
7 representation by, the members of the
public in relation to the formulation of its
policy or implementation thereof;
a statement of the boards, councils, To be published by
committees and other bodies consisting of Board. Cadre
two or more persons constituted as its Controlling
part or for the purpose of its advice, and CCsIT/DGsIT are also
8
as to whether meetings of those boards, responsible
councils, committees and other bodies are
open to the public, or the minutes of such
meetings are accessible for public;
Cadre Controlling
9 a directory of its officers and employees; CCsIT/DGsIT to
publish the data
the monthly remuneration received by To be published
each of its officers and employees, centrally by Board
10
including the system of compensation as
provided in its regulations;
the budget allocated to each of its agency, Cadre Controlling
indicating the particulars of all plans, CCsIT/DGsIT to
11
proposed expenditures and reports on publish the data
disbursements made;
This item is not
the manner of execution of subsidy
relevant to I.T
programmes, including the amounts
12 Department. Hence
allocated and the details of beneficiaries of
no need to take
such programmes;
action
particulars of recipients of concessions,
13 ---do---
permits or authorizations granted by it;
14 details in respect of the information, To be published

90
 available to or held by it, reduced in an
centrally by Board
electronic form;
the particulars of facilities available to Cadre Controlling
citizens for obtaining information, CCsIT/DGsIT to
15 including the working hours of a library or publish the data
reading room, if maintained for public
use;
Cadre Controlling
CCsIT/DGsIT to
the names, designations and other
publish the data and
16 particulars of the Public Information
send list to
Officers;
DIT(RSP&R) and
DIT(S)
Cadre Controlling
CCsIT/DGsIT are
responsible to update
the local linkages
such other information as may be
provided by DIT(S).
17 prescribed and thereafter update these
DIT(RSp&R) to
publications every year;
update central
information. Overall
responsibility is with
DIT(S)

ANNEXURE – VI: MODEL CATALOUGUE OF

RECORDS/FILES RECOMMEND FOR EACH
AO/RANGE
(SIMILAR CATALOGUES CAN BE PREPARED FOR OTHER OFFICES
ALSO)

S NO CATEGORY OF DESCRIPTION OF RECORD

RECORD
1 REGISTERS ALL REGISTERS PRESCRIBED BY THE
DEPARTMENT
2 REPORT FILES CAP – I, CAP – II, CAP – III AND QUARTERLY
REPORTS
3 DOSSIERS ABOVE Rs 1 CRORE AND Rs 10
LAKHS TO 1 CRORE
4 MONTHLY DOs
5 MPR FILES

91
6 MRR (MONTHLY REPORT ON REFUNDS)
7 FORTNIGHTLY REPORT ON PROCESSING
8 QPR ON AGGREATION OF AGRICULTURAL
INCOME
9 QPR ON RAJBHASA
10 MONTHLY AUDIT REPORT
11 QUARTERLY AUDIT REPORT
12 REPORT ON TOP TAX PAYERS
13 REPORT ON ADVANCE TAX PAYMENTS
14 FORTNIGHTLY REPORT TO CBDT ON ARREAR
COLLECTION
15 TECHNICAL PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS
16 MATTERS WIDENING OF TAX BASE
17 REMAND REPORTS AND CORRESPONDENCE
WITH CIT(A)
18 CORRESPONDENCE WITH CIT (DR) – ITAT
19 REPORTS TO SETTLEMENT COMMISSION
AND CORRESPONDENCE WITH CIT(DR) - SC
20 REPORTS ON ADVERSE APPELLATE ORDERS
21 MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE WITH
HIGHER AUTHORITIES
22 MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE WITH
SUBORDINATE AUTHORITIES
23 REVISION U/S 263 BY CIT
24 REVISION U/S 264 BY CIT
25 LIST OF APPELLATE ORDERS OF CIT (A)
WITH STATUS OF APPEAL/APPEAL EFFECT
(ORDERS CONFIRMED AND APPEALS
ALLOWED/PART ALLOWED TO BE
SEPARATELY MENTIONED)
26 LIST OF APPELLATE ORDERS OF ITAT WITH
STATUS OF APPEAL/APPEAL EFFECT
(ORDERS CONFIRMED AND APPEALS
ALLOWED/PART ALLOWED TO BE
SEPARATELY MENTIONED)
27 LIST OF DECISIONS OF HC/SC WITH
STATUS OF APPEAL/APPEAL EFFECT
(ORDERS CONFIRMED AND APPEALS
ALLOWED/PART ALLOWED TO BE
SEPARATELY MENTIONED)
28 DIRECTIIONS U/S 144A
29 SURVEY FOLDERS
30 APPRAISAL REPORTS AND REPORTS

92
 RECEIVED FROM INVESTIGATION WING
31 RAP AUDIT OBJECTIONS – DRAFT PARAS
32 RAP AUDIT OBJECTIONS – MAJOR
33 RAP AUDIT OBJECTIONS – MINOR
34 RAP AUDIT OBJECTIONS – AUDIT REVIEWS
35 INTERNAL AUDIT OBJECTIONS
36 GRIEVANCE PETITIONS (LIST AND
PETITIONS)
37 LIST OF RECTIFICATIONS PENDING AND
DISPOSED (BOTH SUO MOTO AND ON
APPLICATION OF ASSESSEE)
38 APPLICATIONS BEFORE AND
CORRESPONDENCE WITH HIGH POWER
COMMITTEE ON DISPUTES
39 LIST OF ASSESSMENTS PENDING U/S
143(3)
40 LIST OF PENDING SEARCH ASSESSMENTS
41 LIST OF ASSESSMENTS PENDING U/S 147
AS WELL AS COPIES OF APPROVALS FOR
ISSUE OF NOTICES, IF ANY
42 LIST OF CASES WHERE RECORDS ARE
IMPOUNDED U/S 131 OR U/S 133A
43 LIST OF CASES WHERE RECORDS ARE
RETAINED U/S 132(8) AND ALSO
RETENTION AND RELEASE OF ASSETS
44 REPORTS ON WAIVER OF INTEREST
45 REPORTS ON CONDONATION OF DELAY IN
FILING RETURNS
46 APPROVALS OF BLOCK/SEARCH
ASSESSMENTS AND SEARCH & SEIZURE
MATTERS
47 LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS
GRANTED/REFUSED/PENDING
REGISTRATION U/S 12A
48 LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS
GRANTED/REFUSED/PENDING APPROVAL
U/S 80G
49 MISCELLANEOUS TECHNICAL REPORTS
50 MINUTES OF MEETING OF LOCAL ARREAR
COMMITTEES
51 WRITE OFF AND SCALING DOWN OF ARREAR
52 MATTERS PENDING BEFORE BIFR
53 APPROVAL OF PENALTIES

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54 15H FORMS
55 REFUND APPROVALS
56 ISSUES RELATED TO PROCESSING U/S
143(1)
57 ISSUES RELATED TO PAN ALLOTMENT AND
TRANSFER
58 LIST OF TRCs DRAWN AND ACTION RELATED
TO RECOVERY
59 TOP 100 DEFAULTERS AND ACTION TAKEN
60 STAY OF COLLECTION OF DEMAND
61 TDS SURVEYS
62 TDS MATTERS
63 NOTICES/ORDERS ISSUED U/S 210(3)
64 NOTICES U/S 142(1) IN CASE OF NON-
FILERS AND STOP FILERS
65 SURVEYS U/S 133B
66 CASES WHERE APPROVAL IS TAKEN TO
OBTAIN LIST OF ASSETS & LIABILITES U/S
142(1)(iii)
67 FILE TRANSFER PROMORMAS
68 CASES REFERRED TO VALUATION CELL
69 PROSECUTION MATTERS
70 INFORMATION RECEIVED FROM
INVESTIGATION WING/CIB AND ACTION
TAKEN
71 JURISDICTIONAL ORDERS,
CENTRALIZATION PROPOSALS AND ORDERS
72 MATTERS RELATED TO OTHER TAXES
73 OFFICE ORDERS AND WORK ALLOCATION
ORDERS
74 INSPECTION REPORTS
75 ADMINSITRATIVE CORRESPONDENCE WITH
HIGHER AUTHORITIES
76 ADMINSITRATIVE CORRESPONDENCE WITH
ADMINISTRATIVE HIGHER AUTHORITIES
77 FILES MEMOS ISSUED AND RELATED
CORRESPONDENCE
78 MEMOS RECEIVED AND RELATED
CORRESPONDENCE
79 HOUSE KEEPING/RECORD MAINTENANCE
80 ADMINISTRATIVE
CIRCULARS/INSTRUCTIONS
81 ESTABLISHMENT LEAVE MATTERS

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82 MATTERS RELATED TO INFRASTRUTURE
83 MATTERS RELATED TO COMPUTERS
84 MATTERS MATTERS RELATED TO TRAINING
85 MATTERS RELATED TO OFFICIAL TOURS
86 TRANSFER AND POSTING ORDERS
87 TAX EVASION PETITIONS
88 INFORMATION SENT BY INVESTIGATION
WING AND OTHER AGENCIES
89 INFORMATION SOUGHT BY OTHER
CONFIDENTIAL
AGENCIES
FOLDERS (By
90 VIGILANCE MATTERS/DISCIPLINARY
Code wherever
PROCEEDINGS
necessary)
91 CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION WITH
HIGHER AUTHORITIES
92 CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION WITH
LOWER AUTHORITIES

95