New Delhi: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has amended the faceless penalty scheme brought in last January to implement the amendments introduced in the Finance Act 2022, making it mandatory for any tax payer to access through electronic mode. Includes personal hearing. demanded a hearing, showed an official order.
The Faceless Penalty (Amendment) Scheme, 2022, notified on Friday, gives effect to the proposed changes in section 144B of the Income Tax Act to the Finance Act 2022, according to the order.
The government had proposed several changes in the faceless penalty scheme in the Union Budget this year to streamline the scheme to reduce personal-interface between taxpayers and officials and reduce discretion in processing matters.
The Faceless Penalty (Amendment) Scheme, 2022 states that where a request for personal hearing has been received, the Income Tax Authority of the entity concerned shall allow such hearing. This will be done through the National Faceless Penalty Center. Such hearing shall exclusively be through video conferencing or video telephony, including the use of any telecommunications application software that supports video conferencing or video telephony.
In the original plan, it was at the discretion of the senior officers to give such hearings. That plan states that the chief commissioner or director general, in-charge of the regional faceless penalty center, may approve a request for a personal hearing.
CBDT had earlier also introduced Faceless Assessment and Faceless Appeal Scheme. In December 2021, the tax authority allowed personal hearing as an entitlement of taxpayers in the matter of faceless appeal scheme. The faceless schemes are part of the government’s initiative to bring more transparency in tax administration and eliminate the possibility of corruption. However, the difficulties faced by the administration and taxpayers led to amendments.