Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Industrialists, entrepreneurs and trade representatives gathered at the Industrial Growth Centre in Lassipora, Pulwama, for an Income Tax Awareness Programme aimed at familiarising the region’s business community with the provisions of the New Income Tax Act, 2025, and encouraging voluntary compliance among taxpayers across South Kashmir.
The programme was jointly organised by the Income Tax Office, Udhampur, and the local Industrial Association, bringing together government officials and the private sector at one of Kashmir’s key industrial hubs. Lassipora, home to a wide cross section of manufacturing and processing units, has long served as a barometer for the valley’s industrial health, making it a fitting venue for an outreach drive targeted squarely at business taxpayers.
Smt. Monika Dhami, Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, attended as the chief guest and used the occasion to stress the importance of timely and accurate compliance with tax laws, framing it as a civic responsibility with direct bearing on the country’s broader economic development. She urged members of the industrial community to make fuller use of the facilities and services already offered by the Income Tax Department, and encouraged those with complex tax matters to seek professional guidance rather than risk inadvertent non-compliance.
She was accompanied by a team of senior tax officials, including Dr Ruveda Salam, Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, Srinagar, Sandhya Pratap, Assistant Commissioner of the Srinagar Circle, and Vijay Choudhary, Income Tax Officer, Udhampur, underlining the department’s coordinated push to strengthen taxpayer engagement in the region.
The event drew more than a hundred representatives from a range of trade and professional bodies, reflecting the breadth of interest such outreach programmes now command in Kashmir’s business circles. Participants included members of the local Bar Association, the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Cold Storage Association of Lassipora, whose members oversee the region’s crucial fruit and produce storage infrastructure and are directly affected by tax provisions governing agro based industry.
The awareness drive comes as the Income Tax Department continues its nationwide rollout of the New Income Tax Act, 2025, which industry bodies say has introduced significant procedural changes that businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, need time and guidance to fully absorb. For Kashmir’s industrial sector, still working to expand its footprint amid persistent infrastructure and connectivity challenges, such direct engagement with tax authorities is seen as a step toward reducing compliance friction and building greater trust between the department and the region’s entrepreneurial base.
