Page 437 - ES 2020-21_Volume-1-2 [28-01-21]

64 Economic Survey 2020-21 Volume 2

Faceless Appeals Scheme 2020
2.21 Under Faceless Appeals Scheme, 2020, all Income Tax appeals will be finalised in a
faceless manner under the faceless ecosystem with the exception of appeals relating to serious
frauds, major tax evasion, sensitive & search matters, International tax and Black Money Act.

2.22 The Scheme establishes a National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFApC) as the apex body
for conduct of e-appeal proceedings in a centralized manner. Under the NFApC are Regional
Faceless Appeal Centers (RFAC) to facilitate the e-appeal proceedings. The Appeal Units,
headed by one or more Commissioner (Appeals) and are placed under the RFAC. The NFApC
will be the only point of contact between the taxpayer and the underlying Appeal Units; and
Appeal Units and NeAC/Assessing Officer. All internal and external communication takes place
electronically and the assessee or the Assessing Officer are not required to attend the proceedings
personally or through an authorised representative. A schematic diagram of Faceless Appeals
procedure may be seen in the figure below.
Figure 8: Faceless Appeal Procedure

Source: Survey compilation based on inputs from Department of Revenue.
Note: NFApC: National Faceless Appeal Centre, NFAC: National Faceless Assessment Centre, APU: Appeal Unit,
DAPO: Draft Appeal Order

Taxpayers’ Charter

2.23 The third pillar of Honoring the Honest platform is the introduction of taxpayers’ charter.