I-T assessments to be fully faceless in a few years: CBDT chairman

Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman Sushil Chandra said in a post-Budget interview about 2.06 lakh income tax assessment cases were handled online by the department last year, as part of the ‘nameless and faceless’ delivery of service to taxpayers.

He added the recent government sanction to create the advanced Centralised Processing Centre 2.0 in the I-T Department is a precursor to these futuristic proposals.

“CPC 2.0 has got a lot of new advantages. A pre-filled return form will be given to the taxpayer on the basis of information we get about them from the tax deducted at source (TDS) procedure. “That will also facilitate processing of returns in 24 hours and we have got an agreement (with the technology vendor operating the CPC 2.0) that if it (I-T return) is processed in one day, more amount will be given. We expect this system to be rolled out in 2 years. Faster processing of returns will increase better tax compliance,” Chandra said. The existing CPC in Bengaluru is the nodal wing of the tax department to handle I-T returns filed by taxpayers of all categories and subsequent issuance of processing certificate and refunds to a tax filer.

Asked about the finance minister’s declaration in the Interim Budget speech that the I-T Department will move towards faceless assessment and verification of returns, the CBDT chief said the department is already working on the initiative. Even now, few I-T return cases, only about 0.46 percent of the total, are brought under scrutiny. He said 99.54 percent ITRs are accepted as they are. “Over the last year, about 2.06 lakh assessments were completed in a faceless manner. This will be further enhanced,” Chandra said.