CBDT has vide internal circular and by way of order under section 114B and 119 of the Income Tax Act ordered that assessment cases or scrutiny cases which are pending before Faceless assessment system till 15.03.2022 and for which due date of completion is 31.03.2022, shall be transferred and completed by jurisdictional assessing officer.
Hence, such cases shall be removed from faceless system of assessment.
Order transferring cases from faceless system to local jurisdiction was issued on 17.03.2022. Many assessee have started receiving notices from local jurisdictional assessing officer. However, it is interesting to see that many assessee who have received such notice have received it before 15.03.2022. Can this be considered as valid notice because as per the above order jurisdiction was transferred after 15.03.2022 by way of order Dt. 17.03.2022.
Further, the reason for such transfer has been mentioned as “technical/ procedural constraints”.
It is important to note that although cases have been transferred to local AO it does not mean that you need to go to the AO and respond in offline manner, you need to still submit response to notices online on e-filing portal.
Also, the jurisdiction has been transferred in last 15 days and not it will be interesting to see how local AO will go through earlier proceedings and how it will complete the proceedings in 15 days by considering all the facts.
Extract from the order issued u/s 144B(2) by CBDT is as under:
“In partial modification of the Order under sub-section (2) of Section 144B of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act). for specifying the scope I cases to be done under the Act, by F.No.187/3/2020-ITA-1 dated 31st March, 2021, as amended by Orders of even number dated 061h September 2021, 22nd September 2021 and 16th December 2021 , the Central Board of Direct Taxes hereby directs that in addition to the exclusion of the cases in the said Orders, the following shall be excluded from the purview of section 144B of the Act:
Cases for which the time limit for completion expires on 31.03.2022 pending pending with jurisdictional Assessing Officer as on 15.03.2022 or thereafter, which cannot be completed as per the procedure laid down under Section 144B of the Act due to technical / procedural constraints in the given period of limitation.”
Another order has been issued under section 119 of the Act transferring such case from faceless to jurisdictional AO.
To read order issued under section 144B of the Act CLICK HERE.
To read order issued under section 119 of the Act CLICK HERE.
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