Last week, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced key tax reforms and unveiled the new platform “Transparent Taxation – Honouring the Honest”. This carries forward the journey of direct tax reforms in India, such as “faceless appeals” where taxpayers don’t have to visit offices to rectify errors. “When we talk of faceless taxation, what it means is that the taxpayer and the tax officer have no interaction, as should be the case. There should be no contact between the tax officer and taxpayer. This has potential to reduce interference, and empowers the taxpayer,” he said.

The taxpayer will now be given the respect they deserve. The taxpayer will now be trusted, not looked at with doubt. The (tax) department will have to carry out the steps and processes in a time-bound manner, Modi added.

He also informed that the faceless assessment and taxpayer charter has come into place from last week, while the faceless appeal is going to be applicable from September 25.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who also attended the virtual event, noted the reforms “mark an important step forward in providing a simple and transparent taxation regime for India”.

Features of the Faceless Assessment Scheme: (as reported by The Indian Express)

• Selection of a tax payer only through system using data analytics and AI

• Abolition of territorial jurisdiction

• Automated random allocation of cases

• Central issuance of notices with Document Identification No. (DIN)

• No physical interface, no need to visit the income tax office

• Team-based assessments and team-based review

• Draft assessment order in one city, review in another city and finalisation in third city

– TIN Bureau