No adverse Income Tax notice to be issued to taxpayers during April-Jun 2020 – CBDT

No adverse Income Tax notice to be issued to taxpayers during April-June 2020 – CBDT issues its Interim Central Action Plan 2020-21 

Amidst the nation-wide lockdown, CBDT has issued its Central Action Plan (CAP) for the first quarter (April 2020 to June 2020) for the Financial Year 2020-21.

Every Year, the CBDT issues a CAP giving target to the field offices in Key Result Areas. However, due to unprecedented situation arsing out of COVID-19 epidemic, for the FY 2020-21, it has issued a shorter Interim Central Action Plan (ICAP) for only the first quarter of the year.

No adverse Income Tax notice to be issued to taxpayers

CBDT has categorically stated that during the quarter, no communication is to be issued to the taxpayers/assessees having an adverse effect on them till the further guidelines are issued. Particularly no notice u/s 148 for reopening of a case shall be issued without fresh communication from the CBDT.

As per the ICAP, the main emphasis is on inhouse cleaning and preparedness for the work when the situation improves. To illustrate; issuance of notice u/s 148, final settlement of audit objections, disposal of Rectification Petitions u/s 154, removing demand related work,  disposal of application u/s 12AA / 80G disposal of applications for condonation of delay in filing Form 10 & 10B etc.

• Prima facie satisfaction u/s 148 can not be a non-existing or incorrect information
• Mutual Funds to value physical Gold and Silver by using the polled spot prices
• SC allows simultaneous CIRP proceedings against principal debtor & corporate guarantor
• Merely because sales were declared for only one month, same cannot be treated as bogus
• ITAT deleted addition as method of accounting had been accepted in earlier years