Another important issue that has been addressed is that the Commissioner Income tax (Appeals), or CIT(A), will draft and finalize its order which will be shared with the taxpayer through the National Faceless Appeal Center (NFAC). The multistage process of reviews enshrined in the previous scheme has been dispensed with.
old plan It was challenged in various High Courts on various grounds including its constitutional validity. The Bombay High Court is also hearing a PIL.public interest litigation) filed by the Chamber of Tax Consultants (CTC) Its next hearing is scheduled for January 4. However, many of the issues raised in these litigation are addressed by the Revised Faceless Appeal Scheme and will be of great help to High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) and corporate entities who face huge demand, there are some others left.
“Under the earlier scheme, there was no opportunity of oral hearing through video conferencing to the taxpayer as a matter of right. The discretion to give such an opportunity lies with the Chief Commissioner or Director General, in-charge of the Regional Faceless Appeal Centre,” said CTC President Ketan Vajani. Ved Jain, former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), said, “The revised scheme is welcome as it has addressed the main grievance of the taxpayer. Now, oral hearing through video conferencing can be claimed as an entitlement by the taxpayer. ,
However, the faceless appeal plan does not speak of an early hearing. Chartered accountant Anish Thakar said the portal should enable the request for early hearing – this is important for a higher level of assessment.
Prior to the finalization of the previous plan, an appeal was granted by the unit for review of the order passed by the second appeal unit. If the disputed tax, penalty and interest including surcharge and cess exceeds the specified amount, it was mandatory for NFAC to refer the same to another appeals unit for review. In other cases, a risk management strategy was adopted to determine whether a second round of review was needed. In some cases, a draft order went through the lens of three appeals units. This multistage process has been abolished.
Further, Jain pointed out that the CIT(A) also now has the power to exempt matters relating to delay in filing appeal or admitting additional grounds of appeal. Now an issue arises. Vajani said, “Though the actions taken under the old scheme have been saved, the talk of replacing the old scheme with a different one may cast doubt on the orders passed under the old scheme.” Some of the other issues raised in the PIL, such as the penalty for non-compliance with the notice issued by the NFAC and the need to produce additional evidence at the request of the IT department, have not been addressed in the revised scheme.
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