BEIJING, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- A total of 533 officials from taxation departments across China have been punished for illegal connections with tax agents since January, said the top anti-graft agency here Friday.

The move was part of a national operation to sever government involvement with non-governmental intermediate agencies, said the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in a press release on its website.

The campaign is aimed to stop government officials from using these agencies for their own gains and ensure the government's impartial stance.

A total of 58 local taxation departments were found to have leased offices to tax agents or even provided offices for them for free. They were ordered to stop doing so, the press release said.

Discipline inspection agencies also exposed ten taxation departments that allowed tax agents to use their canteens as well as the other ten that have inappropriate financial transactions with tax firms.

Two tax firms from two provinces were disqualified during the operation.

Taxation departments across the country has launched large-scale internal inspections since the beginning of this year while a number of new protocols were issued.

The State Administration of Taxation (SAT) dispatched 14 inspection teams to check up the development of the operation in 38 local taxation departments.

The CCDI office also interviewed leading officials of SAT and ten provincial taxation departments to supervise and push forwards the operation.

Source: Xinhua at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-10/02/c_134679612.htm