IT department may soon have a CPC for scrutiny cases

New Delhi: The IT department is considering setting up a centralized cell for scrutiny of income tax cases as part of efforts to reduce personalized interface between the taxmen and taxpayers with a view to curb corrupt practices.

The proposed cell will be on the lines of the Central Processing Centre (CPC) that the department currently has in Bengaluru for processing income tax returns.

A senior revenue department official said the department wants to reduce interface between taxpayers and the department officers and is planning to set up a CPC.

E-mails sent out from the CPC would not bear the name of the assessing officer, he said.

"It is in discussion stage. This will be as part of the department's drive to go faceless and reduce interface," the official, who did not wish to be quoted, told PTI.

Currently, tax scrutiny notices carry the name and digital signature of the tax official.

The IT department usually picks less than 1 percent of the total ITRs filed for scrutiny.

Once a case is picked up for scrutiny under section 143 (2) of I-T Act, a taxpayer has to submit additional documents to the department as sought by the assessing officer so that further investigation can be carried out to find if any income has escaped assessment.

The CPC, which is the centralised database centre of the I-T department, receives income tax returns (ITRs), both e- filed and sent through post, and processes them.

Intimations relating to I-T returns from CPC, Bengaluru, do not carry any name or signature of the tax officer.

"We are trying to move ahead with the same idea of the CPC for scrutiny cases as it is for the CPC, Bengaluru, for ITR processing," the official said.

Last month, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had come out with revised format for issuing scrutiny notices and allowed taxpayers to reply to notice using internet by uploading information sought on the e-filing website.

The scrutiny notices bear the name of the assessing officer, their designation, telephone and fax number and email id.