Kept in the dark: I-T officers on faceless assessment plan

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the faceless assessment scheme as part of the measures to promote transparency in taxation, the association representing income-tax (I-T) officers and employees has expressed distress over not being “taken into confidence”.

In a letter to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman P C Mody, the association has highlighted the unease among 97 per cent of the I-T department workforce with respect to the implementation of the scheme.

While it supported the vision of bringing in greater transparency, it said,

“…had the department taken us into confidence, the feeling of being left out would not have been there among 97 per cent of the workforce of the department we represent,” the letter by Joint Council of Action (JCA) said.

The JCA represents both the I-T Employees Federation and the I-T Gazetted Officers Association.

It is the first official reaction from I-T officers on the big announcement requiring complete overhaul. Under the restructuring, regional eassessment centres (REACS) will be set up across 20 cities, besides the national eassessment centre (NEAC) in Delhi. Around 4,224 officers have been diverted to the faceless assessment unit, leaving 2,000 officers in the residual jurisdiction, which will no longer carry out any assessment exercise, but taxpayers’ services. The association raised that no employee should be made redundant due to the restructuring exercise.

“Our concern has always been to protect the career progression and working conditions of our members. We are also certain that the CBDT, as has been the case in the past, would ensure no employee is made redundant in the process, and existing vacancies would be filled up with due promotions and recruitment,” it said.