Faceless Assessment: No manpower cut, large scale transfers, CBDT Chief assures jittery tax officers

According to people familiar with the matter, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) held an online meeting on Tuesday with officers and officials of the income tax department to discuss the national rolling out of the Faceless Assessment and Taxpayers' Charter. At the meeting, CBDT Chairman P.C. Mody highlighted the details and backdrop of the Faceless Assessment Scheme and Taxpayers' Charter.

New Delhi: Top brass of the Central Board of Direct Taxes on Tuesday assured jittery income tax officers that a nationwide implementation of faceless assessment and faceless appeal as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week would not lead to large-scale transfers or reduction in the manpower, ETV Bharat has learnt.

According to people familiar with the matter, CBDT Chairman PC Mody and top members of the board held a virtual meeting with the officials of the field formation and allayed their apprehension and misgivings about the reallocation and reorganization of the existing manpower of the department.

In the virtual meeting, CBDT Chairman PC Mody highlighted the details and backdrop of the Faceless Assessment Scheme and Taxpayers’ Charter and explained the reallocation and reorganization aspects of the department’s manpower.

“CBDT Chairman assured the tax officers that it will be done within the existing manpower preferably at the existing locations to dispel any misgiving and misapprehension that may be there in the minds of tax officer with regard to implementation of nationwide rollout of faceless assessment scheme,” a source familiar with the matter told ETV Bharat.

In a bold reform of India’s archaic tax system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last week announced the nationwide launch of a randomized faceless assessment of income tax returns from August 13, while faceless appeal will be implemented from September 25 this year.

Under the faceless assessment system, a computer programme will randomly assign the assessment officer if a tax return has been selected for further scrutiny.

In the new system, the taxpayer and assessment officer will not be in the same city and there will be no chance of a face-to-face meeting that may allow any income tax officer or a middle-man to seek or take any undue advantage from the taxpayers.

At the launch, Prime Minister Modi had said the assessment of an income tax return of a Mumbai based taxpayer could be done from Chennai, Guwahati or Raipur in Chhattisgarh.

Similarly, an appeal against the decision will also be randomly assigned by a computer programme and it could be done from Punjab or any other state which will eliminate the chances of any meeting between taxpayer and tax officials.

“It will end the lobbying for transfer and posting within the department,” Prime Minister Modi had said.

In the meeting, CBDT Chairman PC Mody explained several aspects of faceless assessment and taxpayers’ charter to tax officials from the field formation saying it was necessary to uphold the dignity of the service and also to change any negative perception about the department.

He also explained the role and constitution of National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC) and Regional e-Assessment Centres (ReACs) as these centres and their subordinate offices will roll out the faceless assessment.

(Article by Krishnanand Tripathi)