The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has confirmed that the income tax surveys to collect information for scrutiny assessment will be undertaken only by the investigation wing and the tax deducted at source (TDS) directorate with effect from Thursday.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has confirmed that the income tax surveys to collect information for scrutiny assessment will be undertaken only by the investigation wing and the tax deducted at source (TDS) directorate with effect from Thursday. In an order, the CBDT said officers in Directorate General of Income Tax (DGIT) (Investigation) and Principal Commissioner of I-T/Chief Commissioner of I-T (TDS) "only and exclusively" shall be the competent authority for approving survey actions with effect from August 13, 2020.

"The survey action u/s 133A of the Act being an intrusive action, it is expected that the same should be carried out with utmost responsibility and accountability," the CBDT said, adding that with faceless assessment the department is moving towards minimal interface with taxpayers.

Meanwhile, in a major overhaul of tax administration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday unveiled faceless tax assessment and appealed to reduce the scope for corruption and overreach by officials, and said a taxpayers' charter is being implemented to ensure a free, fair and transparent tax environment. Launching the 'Transparent Taxation - Honouring The Honest Platform' through video conferencing, he said the taxpayer base at just 1.5 crore in India is very low and urged those who owe taxes to come forward and honestly pay their dues and contribute to nation-building.

Modi said, till now the tax office in the city of residence was handling the scrutiny, appeal, and notices of an individual taxpayer. Now, a central computer will pick up tax returns for scrutiny based on risk parameters and mismatches and then will allot them randomly to a team of officers in any city. The scrutiny by these officers will be reviewed by officers at another randomly selected location.

Notices, if any, will be sent only by centralised computer system, and taxpayer can respond to them electronically without the requirement of visiting a tax office or meeting any official. This, he said, will end the era of "jaan pehchan" (acquaintance) to get scrutiny or notices settled. While, faceless assessment that does not require the taxpayer to visit any office or meet any official, and taxpayers' charter will be implemented from Thursday, the faceless appeal will come into force from September 25, he said.