Faceless Income Tax Appeals Gain Major Boost: 85K Disposed in FY25, RTI Data Reveals
RTI data reveals India’s digital tax appeal system has gained pace with over 85,000 faceless cases disposed of in FY25, outshining traditional methods
A government reply to a Right to Information (RTI) request (No. CBODT/R/E/25/00800) has revealed that India’s new digital system for handling tax appeals, known as the Faceless Appeals system, is helping dispose of cases much faster than the old method. This system allows people to fight tax-related issues without visiting tax offices or meeting officers in person. In the financial...
A government reply to a Right to Information (RTI) request (No. CBODT/R/E/25/00800) has revealed that India’s new digital system for handling tax appeals, known as the Faceless Appeals system, is helping dispose of cases much faster than the old method. This system allows people to fight tax-related issues without visiting tax offices or meeting officers in person.
In the financial year 2024–25 (up to March), over 85,000 appeals were successfully handled through this online system, while around 89,000 new appeals were filed, showing that the government is keeping pace with the incoming workload.
What Are Faceless Appeals?
Faceless Appeals are part of the government’s larger push to use technology to make tax processes easier and fairer. They let taxpayers and officers interact digitally, eliminating face-to-face meetings. This is meant to reduce corruption, save time, and ensure transparency.
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Faceless System Performing Better Than the Old System
Looking at the data for the last four years, it's clear that the faceless system is working more efficiently than the older, manual method. Here's what the numbers show:
- In 2021–22, about 57,000 faceless appeals were cleared.
- By 2022–23, that number doubled to over 1 lakh.
- In 2023–24, it remained high with nearly 77,000 cases disposed.
- In 2024–25, 85,828 appeals were cleared — almost as many as were filed.
The number of pending faceless appeals is also dropping, from 4.3 lakh in 2021–22 to 3.66 lakh in 2024–25. This shows that the system is catching up and handling cases faster.
Traditional (Non-Faceless) Appeals Are Still Slower
The faceless system is improving quickly, but the non-faceless system (where appeals are handled through regular channels like Central charges, International Tax, and Additional/Joint Commissioners (ADDL./JCIT)) is still struggling.
Here's what the RTI reply said about non-faceless appeals in 2024–25:
- Central Charges had 91,924 cases pending, and only 18,951 were resolved.
- International Tax had 12,672 pending, and only 2,886 were cleared.
- ADDL./JCIT had 68,737 pending cases, with 23,469 disposed of.
Even though fewer appeals are filed in the non-faceless system, they take longer to clear. This could be due to fewer officers, slower manual processes, or administrative delays.
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Year-by-Year Comparison: How Are Appeals Being Handled?
Here’s a table that shows how many appeals were cleared each year:
| Year | Faceless Appeals Disposed | Non-Faceless Appeals Disposed |
| 2021–22 | 57,350 | 15,608 |
| 2022–23 | 1,07,680 | 18,947 |
| 2023–24 | 76,900 | 34,382 |
| 2024–25 | 85,828 | 45,306 |
You can see that the faceless system consistently clears more appeals, and the gap between the two systems remains wide.
This data shows that India's digital efforts in tax governance are working. The faceless appeal system is helping resolve issues faster, giving taxpayers quicker decisions and reducing delays. It also makes the system less biased, since there’s no personal contact between officers and taxpayers.
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