The CBDT has issued an Office Memorandum dated 19th December 2016 stating that it has set up a committee of high-ranking officials to provide advise on re-engineering the assessment procedure and to arrive at a definite standard assessment procedure through an e-system which should incorporate within itself the principles of certainty, transparency, accountability and natural justice on the one hand and rules for addressing the revenue risks involved on the other. The Committee will also advice of the necessary changes in the Income Tax Laws and Rules necessary for implementing such an assessment procedure.

Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes

Office Memorandum

New Delhi

Date 19 December, 2016

Sub: Constitution of Committee to give recommendations regarding how to make effective assessment through the use of departmental database/ e-system-reg.

The current scrutiny assessment procedure has been a point of discussion in various fora within and outside the Department. The Tax Administration Reforms Commission (TARC) also commented upon this issue in their first report and made specific recommendations to reform the current assessment procedure in scrutiny cases . The TARC had, inter alia, given the following recommendation for reforming the current procedure:

“Hearing in all tax cases by personal presence should be avoided, and data can be sought through an e-system. The taxpayer can upload the data on the e-system,Personal hearing should be sought only in complex cases. (Section VI.4.a)”

2. CBDT has accepted the above recommendation for implementation in a phased Pilot projects for email based assessments have also been run in 7 cities in respect of non-corporate assessees which need to be evaluated for their efficacy. However, for re-engineering the assessment procedure, it would be necessary to arrive at a definite standard assessment procedure through an e-system which should incorporate within itself the principles of certainty, transparency, accountability and natural justice on the one hand and rules for addressing the revenue risks involved on the other. Necessary changes in the Income Tax Laws and Rules may also be necessary for implementing such an assessment procedure.

3. To study the issues involved and with a view to develop such a re-engineered assessment procedure, a committee has been constituted with the following members: