Nine income tax offices face closure

No workload

There is no workload left after the Income Tax Department has switched over to the faceless assessments regime in the country after withdrawing all assessment powers from jurisdictional officers

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, January 24

Nine single income tax offices are likely to be closed as there is no workload left after the Income Tax Department has switched over to the faceless assessments regime in the country after withdrawing all assessment powers from jurisdictional officers.

In August 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to tax payers, had promised the faceless assessment regime and thereafter the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) switched over to a new assessment procedure that is without knowing the names and address of officers conducting the assessment with a sole motive to avoid the victimisation of the tax payers. Now, no workload is left with most offices. Therefore, the CBDT wanted to utilize their services somewhere else.

The CBDT, in a letter to all Chief Commissioner of Income (admin) last week, sought the details of all such offices in the country so that steps be taken to close these. The step was also seen as a major austerity measures. The letter also indicated that offices being run from the rented buildings would be closed in first phase.

“In Himachal Pradesh, there are nine single station income tax offices in Dharmsala, Una, Nurpur, Dalhousie, Kullu, Sundernagar, Nahan, Baddi and Rampur and may face closure. However, other single station offices like Hamirpur and Bilaspur have their own buildings and there is no threat to these offices,” said an officer.