E-Assessment – Income Tax Faceless Assessment Scheme
What is the e-assessment scheme or faceless scrutiny?
The e-assessment scheme was introduced in the Union Budget 2019-2020. The scheme brings into the picture a better approach for investigation assessment. According to the announcement, with effect from 2019, the examination assessment for taxpayers will be carried out with the help of electronic mode with no human interface. Thereby, the detailed investigation can take place with no face-to-face interaction between the taxpayer and the concerned IT department. The e-assessment process will reduce the chances of unjustifiable and biased decisions with respect to certain duty authorities; along these lines, this will enable transparent income charge examination.
What is a scrutiny assessment?
Scrutiny assessment is the investigation of the taxpayer’s ITR recording patterns alongside the ITR. The assessment is carried out on haphazardly picked cases or on one’s which require a detailed assessment of assets. The Income Tax department sends taxpayers liable to the scrutiny assessment a notice, that educates them about the scrutiny assessment being performed on their ITR returns. The notice is sent in the process of scrutiny assessment is entitled under the income charge notice according to Section 143 (2).
Meaning of Electronic mode communication
According to the e-assessment scheme, interchanges through electronic mode mean that all correspondences of the National e-assessment Center with the assessee or with the gathering representing the person in question will be done by means of an electronic mode. What’s more, even the internal correspondence between the National e-assessment center and the Regional e-assessment center will be done utilizing the same electronic mode of interchanges.
Delivery of electronic records via the e-assessment scheme
The electronic mode of correspondence, as well, requires the delivery of records like how an offline scrutiny process requires. This is because the delivery of electronic records is an unquestionable requirement to undertake further investigations or to keep a record of the scrutiny. However, to make the electronic mode of correspondence more reliable and authentic, this mode of correspondence is affixed with a computerized signature and electronic authentication techniques. The delivery of this electronic data is delivered in the accompanying manners:
- A duplicate of the recording is placed to the assessee’s registered record; or
- A duplicate of the recording is sent to the assessee’s or his representative’s registered email address; or
- A duplicate of the recording is uploaded on the assessee’s Mobile application.
On the successful delivery of the records, the assessee or their representative is notified about the same. To seek more affirmation and to add more to the electronic correspondence delivery, it is required for the assessee to reply to the warning by means of the registered record. On the successful accommodation of the response, an acknowledgment is received.
Procedure for faceless e-assessment
The procedure for the faceless e-assessment is listed as follows:
- The faceless e-assessment will issue a notice to the concerned assessee, with a specific reason for the scrutiny occurring with a notice under section 143(2) of the Income Tax Department.
- The assessee is then required to respond to this notice within 15 days of the date of the reception.
- On receiving the response from the assessee, the National e-assessment center will dispense the scrutiny case through a programmed case allotment system.
- On getting the case allotted from the National e-assessment center, the regional e-assessment center may request the public center for the accompanying:
- to seek required data like documents and evidence from the assessee. On this request, the public center may issue a notice to the assessee for giving the regional center’s requirement.
- to direct verification by enabling a programmed distribution of cases for verification to a legitimate verification unit.
- to get technical assistance from the technical unit based on the programmed designation of cases. This technical help will then be allotted to a technical unit in the regional center.
- Based on this data and backing from the National e-assessment center, the regional center will then prepare a draft assessment order, that will either accept the ITR filed by the assessee or will alter the ITR. This draft is then forwarded to the National e-assessment center.
- The National e-assessment center will then re-consider this draft order by re-examining it by means of an automated examination process. On this premise, the center will then finalize the assessment order and may issue a notice to the concerned assessee to take care of the penalties if any of it is applicable due to alterations made in the ITR. Aside from that, the assessee may likewise be allotted a chance to legitimize how or his ITR ought not to be accessed according to the draft. In some cases, the draft may likewise be sent for review to the review units in any of the regional e-assessment centers.
What happens after completion of e-assessment?
The completion of the e-assessment process is done when the National e-assessment center transfers all the electronics records to the concerned accessing offer or the ‘AO’. Based on the commissioned draft, the assessing officer may take one of the accompanying activities:
- May impose penalty
- May seek collection or recovery of the duty in demand.
- May rectify the assessee’s mistake.
- May respond to appeals made.
- May submit reports that are to be given to the commissioner, assessee, or the court according to the case.
- May seek proposition for the dispatch of the prosecution.
- May anticipate the decision taken by the National e-assessment center.
How is the new e-assessment scheme different from the offline scrutiny assessment?
The difference between the online and offline modes of income tax scrutiny is listed as follows:
| E-Assessment | Offline Scrutiny |
|---|---|
| Communications in the e-assessment model of scrutiny take place in electronic mode via emails and video conferencing. | As per the offline scrutiny, method communications take place via notice and paper works. |
| In this method of income tax scrutiny, no face-to-face interaction takes place between the IT department and the assessee. | The offline scrutiny method may require the accession to visit the Income department in person if the need for it arrives. |
| The e-assessment scrutiny compromises various functional units such as the National e-assessment center, Regional e-assessment center, review unit, verification unit, and technical unit. | The assessment, as per this method, involves only the assessee and the assessing officer or the AO. |
| This mode of automated faceless scrutiny is fair and reduces the chances of conspiracy. | This method involves a higher risk of biased decision-making on the part of the tax officer in concern, based on his personal interaction with the assessee. |
FAQs
✅ What is E-assessment in income tax?
E-assessment in income tax is a new way of income tax scrutiny, that was announced in the interim budget of 2019-2020. As per this method, the assessment of ITR returns and its filing patterns of a taxpayer are conducted without a face-to-face interface with the help of an electronic communications mode. To know more about the E-Assessment of income tax contact Dialabank at 9878981144.
✅ What is the faceless E assessment?
Faceless e-assessment is an electronic mode of income tax scrutiny that does not require the assessee to make a physical visit to the Income Tax department for the assessment procedure. As per this method, taxpayers can respond to the Income-tax notice via electronic mediums such as emails.
✅ Which mode of e-assessment is better?
In comparison to the offline method, the online mode of e-assessment called faceless scrutiny is better in terms of transparency. This is because the assessment as per the online mode takes place without any human interface but through automated electronic communication. Thereby, chances of biased, unfair, and unlawful decision-making on the part of a tax official are minimal.
✅ Is the e-assessment scheme authentic?
Advance tax is calculated by applying the applicable tax slab rate to the estimated income of the individual for the year.
✅ Can salaried person pay advance tax?
Yes, the e-assessment faceless income tax scrutiny is authentic as the mode of communication in this method is affixed with the digital signature and electronic authentication techniques.