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the Committee’s August 11 decision. The exact date on which the physical hear-
ing will resume is not clear yet.
“We are hoping that physical hearing commences soon. As per the Addi-
tional Registrar’s communication, it should start after 10 days from date on
which Committee met, i.e. August 11. So it could start any day on or after
August 21,” SCAORA President, Shivaji M. Jadhav told HT.
The Seven-Judges Committee comprises justices N.V. Ramana, Arun
Mishra, R.F. Nariman, U.U. Lalit, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and L.N.
Rao.
According to Patankar’s August 18 letter, three of the biggest Court
rooms in SC will be prepared for physical hearing and it will be ensured that so-
cial distancing and other norms laid down by medical experts are adhered to.
Only a limited number of cases will be listed and it will be done only after ob-
taining prior consent in writing of all parties involved. Further, only ‘final hear-
ing’ cases, that is cases which are to be heard in detail will be listed for physical
hearing, the additional registrar said.
Physical hearing will be in addition to the existing video conference
hearing which will continue unaffected.
[Source : Hindustan Times, New Delhi, dated 20-8-2020]

In complex tax matters, opt for videoconferencing
Make an elaborate submission as well to eliminate ambiguity
Facing a tax official, whether for assessment, appeal or any other tax
administration-related issue, can be intimidating. With the implementation of the
faceless assessment initiative, you won’t need to visit the tax office in person an-
ymore. The faceless appeal service will commence from September 25.
According to Naveen Wadhwa, Deputy General Manager, Taxmann,
“Faceless assessment is meant to eliminate physical interface between the tax-
payer and the Assessing Officer (AO) during the assessment proceedings. The
taxpayer will not know the name and location of the officer handling his case.
His identity will remain anonymous during the entire process.”
The National e-Assessment Centre will act as the main gateway for com-
munication between taxpayers and the tax authorities. Says Kapil Rana, Founder
and Chairman, HostBooks : “Regular AOs will no longer have the power to con-
duct surveys and search. This will reduce unnecessary harassment of taxpayers.
Only the investigation and tax deducted at source wing will have this power,
and that too only after authorisation from a senior official of the Director General
or Principal Commissioner rank.”
Taxpayers will be selected for assessment and other procedures through
a system that uses data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
Territorial jurisdiction is likely to be abolished. You could belong to one city and
your income-tax (I-T) returns could be assessed in another. Allocation of cases
will be automated and random. The draft assessment order could be issued from
one city, the review could happen in another, and finalisation in a third. Only
notices will be issued centrally. Says Rana : “All assessments and review alloca-

GST LAW TIMES  27th August 2020  57