The Income Tax Department today launched Faceless Income Tax Appeals under which all income tax appeals will be decided in a faceless manner, according to a government release. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) which launched this service has made provisions of faceless settlements under this faceless ecosystem.
Under the new system, e-allocation of appeal, e-communication of notice and questionnaire, e-verification/e-enquiry and e-hearing will be done. The appellate order will also be communicated to the appellants electronically, the release said. The new process will remove the need for any physical interface between the appellant and the department.
There will be no physical interface between the taxpayers or their counsels and the Income Tax Department, the release further said. The taxpayers can make submissions from the comfort of their home and save their time and resources.
According to CBDT the Faceless Appeal system will include allocation of cases through Data Analytics and AI under the dynamic jurisdiction with central issuance of notices which would be having Document Identification Number (DIN).
There will however be an exception to appeals which are related to serious frauds, major tax evasion, sensitive and search matters, International tax and Black Money Act, the release said. The gazette notification has also been issued by the department today.
The Prime Minister on 13 August 2020 while launching the Faceless Assessment and Taxpayers’ Charter as part of ‘Transparent Taxation – Honouring the Honest’ platform, had announced launching of Faceless Appeals on 25 September – the birth anniversary of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhayay.
The department has carried out several reforms in Direct Taxes for the simplification of tax processes and for ease of compliance for the taxpayers, the release said.
The faceless appeal will provide not only great convenience to the taxpayers but it will also ensure that just and fair appeal orders and minimise any further litigations, the release said.
