CBDT orders 'best judgment assessment proceedings' against 87,000 taxpayers, says reports

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has ordered “best judgment assessment” of those individuals who did not comply with the alerts of the income tax department on bank deposits after the demonetisation, The Economic Times reported.

The tax department sent SMSes, emails and issued notices to around 3,00,000 individuals as they made huge cash deposits after demonetisation, the report said. But, around 87,000 taxpayers failed to comply with those notices.

The body for direct taxes has directed assessing officers (AO) to conclude “best judgment assessment proceedings” to deal with the noncompliance, the report said.

The assessment officers are allowed to collect information about the taxpayer making use of the tax law provisions such as Section 133(6) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961, Rule 127 of Income-Tax Rules, 1962, and look into the maximum information available before framing the assessment.