“We Just Got April Fooled!!”
(A Poetic Tribute to the Spirit of April Fool’s Day)
With April 1, begins the New Financial Year,
Time to Move on with, ‘Sweet n Sour’ Learnings from Rear.
Can’t Stop My Pen from Reminiscing,
Of All what has happened with Assessments Completion-Time Nearing.
With Assessments on 31 March, getting Time-Barred,
Fun & Pleasure from Life, completely Charred.
Back in Picture, came Jurisdictional Assessing Officers,
With Paucity of Time, Faceless Assessments, getting to them Transferred.
Working Late Nights in the Rush of Time-barring Notices,
Simply Ignoring the Doctor’s Health Diagnosis.
Diligently Furnishing all the Assessment Submissions,
Just to Prevent any Probable Additions.
Waiting eagerly for Assessment Order’s Penult,
Just like a Student Waiting for his Result.
Not Finding the Assessment Orders on 31st Night,
Making us both Worried & Excite.
But the Finance Act 2022, Celebrated April Fool,
Time-barring Assessments simply got Rescheduled.
The IT Authorities simply Acted Cool,
As it were ‘We’, who were destined to be Fooled.
Its First April, My Friends, So Don’t Feel Bad,
Celebrate its Spirit & Stay Glad.
Sometimes It’s Fun and Cool,
To Be Getting April Fooled.
(By Mayank Mohanka)
Some Food for Thought!!
CBDT vide it’s Order dated 17.3.2022, has mandated that assessments which were getting time barred on 31.3.2022, (Regular Assessments u/s 143(3), for AY 2020-21) shall be transferred to jurisdictional AOs, from the National Faceless Assessment Centre. Now, Finance Act 2022, has amended section 153(1) to extend the time barring completion period of these assessments from 31.3.2022 to 30.9.2022. So, now whether, these assessments will continue to remain with jurisdictional AOs or will again get transferred to the faceless hierarchy?
Further, I have observed this recurring phenomenon, that whenever time-barring completion period comes, CBDT issues Circular for transferring faceless assessments & penalty cases to jurisdictional AOs, specifically mentioning that in view of the difficulty in completing the specified procedure in section 144B (in case of faceless assessments) & faceless penalty scheme, the cases are being transferred to jurisdictional AOs. CBDT in addition to this Order dated 17.3.2022, has previously issued similar Orders dated 6.9.2021, 22.9.2021 & 16.12.2021.
The moot point is by when the faceless system will stablise and this ping pong of transfer of cases from jurisdictional AO to faceless AO, then back to jurisdictional AO will end?
Also, whether this adhoc manner of conducting of some assessments by faceless AO & some by jurisdictional AO, can be challenged on the ground of violation of Principle of Equity, as enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution of India?
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