Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey has launched the faceless assessment system in the Income Tax department and also inaugurated the National e-Assessment Centre, promises that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had made in her Budget speech.
“The e-Assessment Scheme introduces the concept of team-based assessment with dynamic jurisdiction which would bring about transparency, efficiency and standardisation of procedures by eliminating human interface between the taxpayer and the Income Tax department,” the government said in a release.
The launch of the e-Assessment system comes days after the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched a system wherein all notices and communication sent by the I-T department would come with a computer-generated documentation identification number (DIN). Notices without this DIN will be considered non est or non-existent under the law. “E-assessment is a welcome step in making assessment proceedings efficient and speedy,” said Homi Mistry, partner, Deloitte India.
Save time
“Online submissions will save time and effort involved in visiting tax offices for face-to-face proceedings. Faceless assessments will make the process objective and hassle-free.”
The nodal National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC) will be located in Delhi and headed by the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax. The eight Regional e-Assessment Centres will be located in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
“Cases for the specified work shall be assigned by the NeAC to different units by way of automated allocation systems,” the release added. “In view of the dynamic and all-India jurisdiction of all officers of NeAC and ReAC, this kind of connective and collaborative effort of officers is likely to lead to better quality of assessments.”
