Govt. notifies faceless e-assessment scheme for income-tax payers

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified on September 12, 2019, the ambitious E-assessment Scheme, 2019. The scheme is also called faceless or nameless assessment, for income-tax payers. With the launching of the scheme all your income tax returns (ITR) would be assessed and scrutinised in complete electronic mode without any human interface.
The assessment under this Scheme to be rolled out on October 8, 2019 which shall be based on territorial area, or persons or class of persons, or incomes or class of incomes, or cases or class of cases, as may be specified by the Board in a centralized manner. The above move of the Government expected not only to curb corruption; it would bring transparency and also make it easier for the tax payers to respond to any income tax notice as everything will be online.
Highlights of the scheme are as under.
a) National e-Assessment Centre shall serve a notice on the assessee under sub-section (2) of section 143, specifying the issues for selection of his case for assessment.
b) The assessee has to within fifteen days from the date of receipt of notice referred to in sub-clause file his response to the National e-assessment Centre through digital mode. The progress in the case will be updated intimated to assessee through mobile app, real time alerts etc.
c) No need for an assessee or his/her representantive to appear before the income tax authority in connection with assessment proceedings. However, if the assessee or his representative wants personal hearing to present their case same may be allowed to do so “in any unit” and such hearings shall be conducted exclusively through video links or any other such facility.
d) All the communication from income-tax department will be only through on-line from centralised e-assessment centre. The Central Cell shall be the single point of contact between the taxpayer and the Department.
e) The cases selected for scrutiny shall be allocated to any one Regional e-assessment Centre in a random manner and notices shall be issued electronically by a Central Cell, without disclosing the name, designation or location of the assessing officer.
f) The Regional Assessment unit where a case is assigned may make a request to the National e-assessment Centre for (i)obtaining such further information, documents or evidence from the assesse or any other person, as it may specify; (ii)conducting of certain enquiry or verification by verification unit; and (iii)seeking technical assistance from the technical unit; etc. The National e-assessment Centre shall issue appropriate notice or requisition to the assessee or any other person for obtaining the information, documents or evidence requisitioned by the assessment unit;
g) The tax department would use data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and other latest tools to ascertain misreporting or evasion.
h) The National e-assessment Centre shall, after completion of assessment, transfer all the electronic records of the case to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such case., for – (i)imposition of penalty; (ii) collection and recovery of demand; (iii)rectification of mistake; (iv)giving effect to appellate orders; (v)submission of remand report, or any other report to be furnished, or any representation to be made, or any record to be produced before the Commissioner (Appeals), Appellate Tribunal or Courts, as the case may be; (vi)proposal seeking sanction for launch of prosecution and filing of complaint before the Court etc.