Plan your own trip to shake off I-T trail

Mumbai: Planning to spend the summer at a favourite get-away? Make sure you plan your travel on your own as the Income Tax  (I-T) department is keeping an eye on how much you are spending.

About two months after a notice by the department asking all travel agents to provide ample details of passengers planning trips worth Rs. 1 lakh or more, tour operators have been busy collecting the data of passengers, who have planned a holiday since the last financial year or are making bookings now.

However, operators have now decided to appeal to the department to revoke the notice, as the data collection is labour-intensive, requires a lot of time, and is chasing customers away from them. In short, they claim it is bad for business.

"Since the notice was issued, we have been busy collecting personal details of passengers who have travelled since April, 2010.

The task is next to impossible as we require considerable manpower to collate the data," said Rajesh K Rateria, chairman (western region), Travel Agents Association of India, and owner of Cirrus Travels Private Limited at Kalbadevi.

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"Also, if we ask for PAN card or bank details, clients get suspicious and do not return for bookings. The I-T department needs to withdraw the troublesome demand."

Rateria recently joined hands with the Hotel and Restaurant Association - Western India, under the common banner of the Western India Tourism Organization, to object to the matter.

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Atul Mohite, president of Maharashtra Tour Organisers Association and owner of Contour Travels, said, "We have been asked to give voluminous details of all passengers who have paid Rs. 1 lakh and above on a package tour since last April. Even middle-class families can afford this amount these days.

So I don't know why the I-T department insisted on the rule, especially when so many people travel internationally, some even twice a month."

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Passengers find the notice off-putting as it invades their privacy, they claimed. Mridul Maisheri, an assistant manager in a multinational firm, said he was a victim of the data probe by operators and had decided to design his own travel package. "Why should I give my details to a tour operator?

This is just too much. Since being told the I-T department has asked for our details, I have decided to plan my trip on my own," he said.

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Pritesh Saini, resident of Colaba, also called the department's action troublesome. "Why would a passenger book a travel package with a tour operator who might create trouble?

The rule should be applicable for passengers making bookings worth more than Rs 5 lakh or so," he said.

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BP Gaur, Director General (Investigation), I-T, Mumbai, confirmed that tour operators were asked to submit the data.

"This is normal procedure. The directives have come from the Centre. Time and again we add or subtract various industries from the list to keep a tab on violators.

Nowadays, people travel abroad a lot and in order to keep a check on the money spent, we have asked for the list.

It is not that we are going to send notices to each and every passenger on the list asking for explanations. The details will be stored in our data bank.

We are just keeping a watch out for violators. We will ask for explanations only if we find something suspicious."