Faceless Jurisdiction of Income-tax Authorities Scheme 2022

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) vide a Notification No. 15/2022 dated 28th March 2022 notified Faceless Jurisdiction of Income-tax Authorities Scheme 2022 under section 130 of the Income-tax Act, 1962 (‘Act’). The Scheme provides for the Scope, Powers, and Performance of functions of income-tax authorities for this scheme. Thi article details the income tax authorities, power and functions of income tax authorities, and the mentioned scheme.

The Gist of Faceless Jurisdiction of Income-tax Authorities Scheme 2022

Section 130 of the Income Tax Act empowers the Central Government to make a scheme to exercise powers and performance of certain functions, vesting jurisdiction with the Assessing Officer, the exercise of power to transfer cases, or exercise of jurisdiction in case of change of incumbency in a faceless manner. Exercising such power, the Government has notified Income-tax Authorities Scheme, 2022, effective from 28-03-2022.

Who are Income Tax Authorities?

Income tax authorities are government officials responsible for ensuring that individuals and businesses pay the correct amount of income tax. They are part of the tax administration system overseen by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). These authorities can assess income, collect taxes, and enforce tax laws. They may also conduct audits to verify tax return accuracy and identify discrepancies.

Power and Functions of Income Tax Authorities:

Scope/ Powers of Income Tax Authorities as specified in the Faceless Jurisdiction of Income-tax Authorities Scheme 2022 is as follows:

Income Tax Authorities shall exercise the powers and perform the functions, under Section 120 of the Income Tax Act
CBDT thereafter issues direction, in writing, the criteria(s) with regards to the following:
- territorial area
- persons or classes of persons
- incomes or classes of income
- cases or classes of cases
When the Assessing Officer has been vested with jurisdiction, under Section 124 of the Act, he shall have jurisdiction—
in respect of any person carrying on a business or profession
in respect of any other person residing within the area.
This assessment shall be in a faceless manner as per Para 3 of the Scheme and conducted through the automated allocation

Performance of functions by Authorities:

By Para 3 of the Faceless Jurisdiction of Income-tax Authorities Scheme 2022, the extent to which the performance of the function is conducted by Authorities is given in the following provisions:

Faceless Assessment of total income

Section 144-B of the Income Tax Act concerning making Faceless Assessment of total income or loss of assessee.

Faceless Appeal Scheme, 2021

The Faceless Appeal Scheme, 2021 is notified under sub-section (6-B) and (6-C) of Section 250 of the Act concerning the disposal of appeals

Faceless Penalty Scheme, 2021

The Faceless Penalty Scheme, 2021 is notified under sub-section (2-A) and (2-B) of Section 274 of the Act concerning the imposition of penalty under Chapter XXI of the Act.

e-Verification Scheme, 2021

The e-Verification Scheme, 2021 notified under sub-section (1) and (2) of section 135-A of the Act concerning calling for information under Section 133 of the Act, collecting certain information under Section 133-B of the Act, or calling for information by the prescribed authority under Section 133-C of the Act, or exercise of power to inspect the register of companies under Section 134, or exercise of the power of Assessing Officer under Section 135 of the Act.

e-Settlement Scheme, 2021

The e-Settlement Scheme, 2021 is notified under sub-section (11) and (12) of Section 245-D of the Act concerning the settlement of pending applications by the interim Board.

e-advance rulings Scheme, 2022

The e-advance rulings Scheme, 2022 is notified under sub-section (9) and (10) of Section 245-R of the Act concerning dispute resolution for persons or class of persons, as specified by the Board, who may opt for dispute resolution under the Chapter XIX-AA of the Act concerning a dispute arising from any variation in the specified order fulfilling the specified conditions.

Section 130 of Income-tax Act - Faceless jurisdiction of income-tax authorities

Section 130 of the Act empowers CBDT to notify a Scheme for the following: Exercise of all or any of the powers and performance of all or any of the functions conferred on, or, as the case may be, assigned to income-tax authorities by or under this Act as referred to in section 120; or (b) vesting the jurisdiction with the Assessing Officer as referred to in section 124; or (c) exercise of power to transfer cases under section 127; or (d) exercise of jurisdiction in case of change of incumbency as referred to in section 129, to impart greater efficiency, transparency, and accountability by- (i) eliminating the interface between the income-tax authority and the assessee or any other person, to the extent technologically feasible; (ii) optimizing utilization of the resources through economies of scale and functional specialization; (iii) introducing a team-based exercise of powers and performance of functions by two or more income-tax authorities, concurrently, in respect of any area or persons or classes of persons or incomes or classes of income or cases or classes of cases, with dynamic jurisdiction.

Further, section 130 provides that no direction shall be issued after the 31st day of March 2022.
By powers conferred by sections 130(1) and (2), the Central Government has notified this Faceless Jurisdiction of Income-tax Authorities Scheme 2022.

Click here to get the official notification about the Faceless Jurisdiction of Income-tax Authorities Scheme 2022