As part of introducing a “faceless and nameless” e-assessment procedure for income tax, a nine-member committee constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) confirmed that the online assessment procedure will be implemented from next financial year onwards.
Earlier, CBDT, the apex body for direct taxes, formed a nine-member committee, headed by a principal chief commissioner rank officer, and has set for it a deadline of February 28, 2018, for submitting its report.
“The deadline of February end to the committee is an indication that the government and the CBDT want to usher in this new regime from the first half of the new year,” a senior tax officer privy to the development said.
The committee is being constituted as the “department is embarking upon the concept of a faceless and nameless e-assessment procedure”, the CBDT order, issued late evening, said.
A pilot project in some major cities has already been done to test the feasibility of the new assessment procedure.
With the new mechanism, the department aims to reduce face to face interaction between the tax payers and IT Officers.
“As such, there is an imperative need to re-deploy the available manpower in the light of the proposed e-assessment,” the CBDT order said.
According to PTI, the terms of reference of the committee are to propose the new deployment of manpower in view of the implementation of e-assessment; to propose modalities and stages of re- deployment of manpower from existing stations and to recommend the requirements of additional manpower and infrastructure, if any, in the light of this new initiative.
The committee will also “recommend distribution of manpower between assessment units, investigation wing and DG Systems (the technical wing of the CBDT) in view of the new areas assigned to the investigation wings in matters related to Operation Clean Money”, launched by the government to check black money post demonetization.
Initially, the online communication is optional where the taxpayers can take a call on whether to conduct their dealing over the e-system or through the existing procedure of manual submissions of documents by visiting the tax office.
Once taxpayers register on the web portal, they will get a confirmation as a text message and an email on their registered mobile number and email ID, indicating success.
Earlier, the CBDT had said that the functionality to conduct e-proceeding will be available for all types of notices, questionnaires and letters issued under various sections of the Income Tax Act.
