A taxpayer who does not have an e-filing account or a PAN will not be able to avail the facility of getting e-assessment of income tax that is set to be launched from next month, as per the latest Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) report. The Income Tax E-assessment also called a faceless assessment system is set to be launched on October 8 in the country.
The e-assessment system shall also not cover cases where a taxpayer has conducted raids and instances is categorized under “extraordinary circumstances“.
According to CBDT, the assessee who is a part of e-assessment through their e-filing account will be “required to produce their response, evidence to any notice, communication or show cause issued by the AO (assessing officer) electronically on the official portal of the department.” All such e-assessment communication and notices should bear the unique DIN (document identification number). DIN is a policy introduced recently to ensure transparency in the process.
The circular added that there can be instances where a “personal hearing or attendance” of the taxpayer is required in e-assessment cases. Those instances will be:
- where books of accounts are required to be examined,
- where the taxman has invoked provisions of section 131 of the IT Act, which states power regarding discovery and production of evidence.
- where the examination of witnesses have to be made by the department or assessee, and
- where a show-cause notice issued by the assessing officer contemplating any adverse view and assessee requests through for personal hearing to explain the matter.
For the successful launch of the Finance Ministry’s ambitious e-assessment system, a national e-assessment centre (NeAC) has been recently set up in Delhi. Being part of the central government’s plan, NeAC will be an independent office for e-assessment, also known as the faceless and nameless assessment for income taxpayers.
The NeAC will be headed by a Principal Chief Commissioner of Income-tax (PCCIT) and will have 16 officials. The office will serve notices specifying the reason behind the selection of a particular case to assesses. As soon as the assessee send a response within 15 days from the notice, the Centre will allocate the case to an AO (assessing officer) using an automated system.
