New Delhi: The new Income Tax Bill, set to be presented in Parliament on Thursday, provides for the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to adopt and declare a Charter for Taxpayers and issue guidelines to administer this charter.
"Over the past 10 years, our government has implemented several reforms for the convenience of taxpayers, such as faceless assessment, taxpayers' charter, faster returns, almost 99% returns being on self-assessment, and Vivad se Vishwas scheme," finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget FY26 speech on February 1.
"Continuing these efforts, I reaffirm the commitment of the tax department to 'trust first, scrutinise later,"she added.
As part of new compliance and procedural changes, the bill proposes the introduction of a Taxpayers' Charter.
"The Board shall adopt and declare a Charter for Taxpayers and issue such orders, instructions, directions or guidelines to other income-tax authorities as it considers fit for the administration of such charter," the finance ministry said in the Income Tax Bill 2025.
The charter seeks to treat taxpayers as honest, provide mechanism for appeal and review, timely decisions, respect privacy of taxpayers, maintain confidentiality, hold authorities accountable and reduce cost or compliance burden.
By incorporating the charter into the finance bill, the CBDT aims to enhance transparency and taxpayer rights by ensuring fair treatment and reducing bureaucratic hurdles.
For faceless jurisdiction of income tax authorities, the bill has proposed to eliminate the interface between the income-tax authority and the assessee to the extent it is technologically feasible and optimise utilisation of the resources through economies of scale and functional specialisation.
It also seeks to introduce a team-based exercise of powers and performance of functions by two or more income-tax authorities, concurrently, in respect of any area, or persons with dynamic jurisdiction. "For the disposal of appeal...the government may notify a scheme, so as to dispose of appeals in an expedient manner with transparency and accountability," the bill proposed.
This, it said, can be done by eliminating the interface between the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) and the appellant, to the extent technologically feasible and direct that any of the provisions of this Act relating to jurisdiction and procedure for disposal of such appeals, shall not apply or shall apply with exceptions, modifications and adaptations.
Source Name : Economic Times