•section 144C and serve a copy of such order and notice for initiating penalty
•proceedings, if any, to the assessee, alongwith the demand notice, specifying
•the sum payable by, or refund of any amount due to, the assessee on the basis
•of such assessment;
•(xxix) where the eligible assessee files his objections with the Dispute
•Resolution Panel, the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall upon receipt
•of the directions issued by the Dispute Resolution Panel under sub-section (5)
•of section 144C, forward such directions to the concerned assessment unit;
•(xxx) the assessment unit shall in conformity of the directions issued by
•the Dispute Resolution panel under sub-section (5) of section 144C, prepare a
•draft assessment order in accordance with sub-section (13) of section 144C and
•send a copy of such order to the National Faceless Assessment Centre;
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•(xxxi) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall, upon receipt of
•draft assessment order referred to in clause (xxx), finalise the assessment within
•the time allowed under sub-section ( 13) of section 144C and serve a copy of
•such order and notice for initiating penalty proceedings, if any, to the assessee,
•alongwith the demand notice, specifying the sum payable by, or refund of any
•amount due to, the assessee on the basis of such assessment;
•(xxxii) The National Faceless Assessment Centre shall, after completion
•of assessment, transfer all the electronic records of the case to the Assessing
•Officer having jurisdiction over the said case for such action as may be required
•under the Act.
(2)The faceless assessment under sub-section ( 1) shall be made in respect of
•such territorial area, or persons or class of persons, or incomes or class of incomes, or
•cases or class of cases, as may be specified by the Board.
(3)The Board may, for the purposes of faceless assessment, set up the following
•Centres and units and specify their respective jurisdiction, namely:—
(i)a National Faceless Assessment Centre to facilitate the conduct of
•faceless assessment proceedings in a centralised manner, which shall be vested
•with the jurisdiction to make faceless assessment;
•(ii) Regional Faceless Assessment Centres, as it may deem necessary, to
•facilitate the conduct of faceless assessment proceedings in the cadre controlling
•region of a Principal Chief Commissioner, which shall be vested with the
•jurisdiction to make faceless assessment;
•(iii) assessment units, as it may deem necessary to facilitate the conduct
•of faceless assessment, to perform the function of making assessment, which
•includes identification of points or issues material for the determination of any
•liability (including refund) under the Act, seeking information or clarification on
•points or issues so identified, analysis of the material furnished by the assessee
•or any other person, and such other functions as may be required for the purposes
•of making faceless assessment;
•(iv) verification units, as it may deem necessary to facilitate the conduct of
•faceless assessment, to perform the function of verification, which includes
•enquiry, cross verification, examination of books of accounts, examination of
•witnesses and recording of statements, and such other functions as may be
•required for the purposes of verification;
(v)technical units, as it may deem necessary to facilitate the conduct of
•faceless assessment, to perform the function of providing technical assistance
•which includes any assistance or advice on legal, accounting, forensic,
•information technology, valuation, transfer pricing, data analytics, management
•or any other technical matter which may be required in a particular case or a class
•of cases, under this section; and
•(vi) review units, as it may deem necessary to facilitate the conduct of
•faceless assessment, to perform the function of review of the draft assessment
•order, which includes checking whether the relevant and material evidence has
•been brought on record, whether the relevant points of fact and law have been
•duly incorporated in the draft order, whether the issues on which addition or
•disallowance should be made have been discussed in the draft order, whether
•the applicable judicial decisions have been considered and dealt with in the draft
•order, checking for arithmetical correctness of variations proposed, if any, and
•such other functions as may be required for the purposes of review.
(4)The assessment unit, verification unit, technical unit and the review unit
•shall have the following authorities, namely:—
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(a)Additional Commissioner or Additional Director or Joint Commissioner
•or Joint Director, as the case may be;
(b)Deputy Commissioner or Deputy Director or Assistant Commissioner
•or Assistant Director, or Income-tax Officer, as the case may be;
(c)such other income-tax authority, ministerial staff, executive or
•consultant, as considered necessary by the Board.
(5)All communication among the assessment unit, review unit, verification unit
•or technical unit or with the assessee or any other person with respect to the information
•or documents or evidence or any other details, as may be necessary for the purposes
•of making a faceless assessment shall be through the National Faceless Assessment
•Centre;
(6)All communications between the National Faceless Assessment Centre and
•the assessee, or his authorised representative, or any other person shall be exchanged
•exclusively by electronic mode; and all internal communications between the National
•Faceless Assessment Centre, Regional Faceless Assessment Centres and various
•units shall be exchanged exclusively by electronic mode:
•Provided that the provisions of this sub-section shall not apply to the enquiry or
•verification conducted by the verification unit in the circumstances referred to in
•sub-clause (g) of clause (xii) of sub-section (7);
(7)For the purposes of faceless assessment—
(i)an electronic record shall be authenticated by—
(a)the National Faceless Assessment Centre by affixing its digital
•signature;
(b)assessee or any other person, by affixing his digital signature if
•he is required to furnish his return of income under digital signature, and
•in any other case, by affixing his digital signature or under electronic
•verification code in the prescribed manner;
•(ii) every notice or order or any other electronic communication shall be
•delivered to the addressee, being the assessee, by way of—
(a)placing an authenticated copy thereof in the assessee's registered
•account; or
(b)sending an authenticated copy thereof to the registered email
•address of the assessee or his authorised representative; or
(c)uploading an authenticated copy on the assessee's Mobile App,
•and followed by a real time alert;
•(iii) every notice or order or any other electronic communication shall be
•delivered to the addressee, being any other person, by sending an authenticated
•copy thereof to the registered email address of such person, followed by a real
•time alert;
•(iv) the assessee shall file his response to any notice or order or any other
•electronic communication, through his registered account, and once an
•acknowledgement is sent by the National Faceless Assessment Centre containing
•the hash result generated upon successful submission of response, the response
•shall be deemed to be authenticated;
(v)the time and place of dispatch and receipt of electronic record shall be
•determined in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Information
•Technology Act, 2000;
•21 of 2000.
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•(vi) a person shall not be required to appear either personally or through
•authorised representative in connection with any proceedings before the income-
•tax authority at the National Faceless Assessment Centre or Regional Faceless
•Assessment Centre or any unit set up under this sub-section;
•(vii) in a case where a variation is proposed in the draft assessment order
•or final draft assessment order or revised draft assessment order, and an
•opportunity is provided to the assessee by serving a notice calling upon him to
•show cause as to why the assessment should not be completed as per the such
•draft or final draft or revised draft assessment order, the assessee or his authorised
•representative, as the case may be, may request for personal hearing so as to
•make his oral submissions or present his case before the income-tax authority in
•any unit;
•(viii) the Chief Commissioner or the Director General, in charge of the
•Regional Faceless Assessment Centre, under which the concerned unit is set
•up, may approve the request for personal hearing referred to in clause (vii) if he
•is of the opinion that the request is covered by the circumstances referred to in
•sub-clause (h) of clause (xii);
•(ix) where the request for personal hearing has been approved by the
•Chief Commissioner or the Director General, in charge of the Regional Faceless
•Assessment Centre, such hearing shall be conducted exclusively through video
•conferencing or video telephony, including use of any telecommunication
•application software which supports video conferencing or video telephony, in
•accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board;
(x)subject to the proviso to sub-section (6), any examination or recording
•of the statement of the assessee or any other person (other than statement
•recorded in the course of survey under section 133A of the Act) shall be
•conducted by an income-tax authority in any unit, exclusively through video
•conferencing or video telephony, including use of any telecommunication
•application software which supports video conferencing or video telephony in
•accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board;
•(xi) the Board shall establish suitable facilities for video conferencing or
•video telephony including telecommunication application software which
•supports video conferencing or video telephony at such locations as may be
•necessary, so as to ensure that the assessee, or his authorised representative, or
•any other person is not denied the benefit of faceless assessment merely on the
•consideration that such assessee or his authorised representative, or any other
•person does not have access to video conferencing or video telephony at his
•end;
•(xii) the Principal Chief Commissioner or the Principal Director General, in
•charge of the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall, with the prior approval
•of the Board, lay down the standards, procedures and processes for effective
•functioning of the National Faceless Assessment Centre, Regional Faceless
•Assessment Centres and the unit setup, in an automated and mechanised
•environment, including format, mode, procedure and processes in respect of the
•following, namely:—
(a)service of the notice, order or any other communication;
(b)receipt of any information or documents from the person in
•response to the notice, order or any other communication;
(c)issue of acknowledgment of the response furnished by the person;
(d)provision of "e-proceeding" facility including login account
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•facility, tracking status of assessment, display of relevant details, and
•facility of download;
(e)accessing, verification and authentication of information and
•response including documents submitted during the assessment
•proceedings;
(f)receipt, storage and retrieval of information or documents in a
•centralised manner;
(g)circumstances in which proviso to sub-section (6) shall apply;
(h)circumstances in which personal hearing referred to clause (viii)
•shall be approved;
(i)general administration and grievance redressal mechanism in the
•respective Centres and units.
(8)Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section ( 1) or sub-section ( 2),
•the Principal Chief Commissioner or the Principal Director General in charge of National
•Faceless Assessment Centre may at any stage of the assessment, if considered
•necessary, transfer the case to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such
•case, with the prior approval of the Board.
(9)Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act,
•assessment made under sub-section ( 3) of section 143 or under section 144 in the
•cases referred to in sub-section (2) (other than the cases transferred under sub-section
(8), on or after the 1st day of April, 2021, shall be non-est if such assessment is not
•made in accordance with the procedure laid down under this section.
Explanation.—In this section, unless the context otherwise requires—
(a)"addressee" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in