2018 Union Budget - Govt amends Income Tax Act, introduces e-assessment for all Thursday Feb 01,2018

To cut discretion at the hands of income tax officials and promote transparency, the government announced introduction of e-assessment for all by amending the Income-tax Act.

 Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while presenting the Union Budget for 2018-19 said that the government will roll out e-assessment across the country which will almost eliminate person-to-person contact.

“We had introduced e-assessment in 2016 on a pilot basis and in 2017, extended it to 102 cities with the objective of reducing the interface between the department and the taxpayers. With the experience gained so far, we are now ready to roll out the E-assessment across the country, which will transform the age-old assessment procedure of the income tax department and the manner in which they interact with taxpayers and other stakeholders. Accordingly, I propose to amend the Income-tax Act to notify a new scheme for assessment where the assessment will be done in electronic mode which will almost eliminate person to person contact leading to greater efficiency and transparency,” Jaitley said during his Budget speech.