In order to improve transparency and the ease of doing business, the customs department will on Monday roll out the first phase of the country-wide faceless assessment of consignments. Under the system, consignments will be assessed by officials electronically, irrespective of the port where the goods arrive.
The first phase will commence in Chennai and Bengaluru. It will cover a specific set of items and will be expanded across India by this calendar year-end.
“The Board has decided to begin faceless assessment in phases. The first phase would begin from June 8, 2020, in Bengaluru and Chennai for items of imports primarily covered by Chapters 84 and 85 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975,” the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said in a circular.
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Chapter 84 and 85 of Customs Tarrif Act cover items including electrical machinery, boilers, nuclear reactors, television image and sound recorders, machinery and mechanical appliances.
The first phase of the roll out would apply only to inter-linking of Bengaluru and Chennai Customs Zones.
Faceless Assessment shall be the norm pan India by December 31, 2020, CBIC further said.
The Income Tax (I-T) department started faceless e-assessment in October 2019 and completed the assessment of over 100 cases. It has sent notices in more than 48,000 cases so far.
Source: Business Standard
