New Delhi, Dec 12 (KNN) Finance Minister P Chidambaram  has asked the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to focus on better trade facilitation using latest technology and sharing information with its other counterpart agencies.

Chidambaram was speaking at the 56th Founding Day of DRI here today.

He said that massive information worth sharing is lying at various platforms including PAN data base, registration data for excise and service tax for imports and exports, depositories in capital market and insurance sector among others.

The Finance Minister said that it is the age of technology and, therefore, intelligence agencies should use latest technology both for intelligence gathering and information analysis.

In order to check tax evasion, Chidambaram called for better information sharing among various agencies of the government. 

"I think organisations must come forward to share information with DRI, just as DRI must come forward to share information with other organisation tasked with collecting one tax or other or enforcing one law or the other," he said here. 

"I know that mass of information resides in Financial Intelligence Unit, a mass of information lies in PAN data base, a mass of information lies in the registration that we require for excise and service tax for exporters and importer. A mass of information lies with depositories in the capital market. If this information is not shared on need to know basis, I am afraid much of the effort would be wasted," he said. 

Organisations must learn to work with each other, and learn to 'speak' to each other, he added.

Highlighting the importance of use of technology by agencies like DRI, Chidambaram said, "I think any organisation can change and re-engineer in a very short span of time (with the help of technology)." 

DRI should focus on right kind of person, training them the right way and deploying them in the right way so that there could be maximum use of technology, he said. (KNN/SD)