PROCESSING UNDER SECTION 143(1) BE MANDATED BEFORE ASSESSMENT

Under the existing provisions of the Act, processing of a return is not necessary if notice has to be issued to the assessee for scrutiny assessment.

Thus, it is proposed to amend the said provisions to provide that a return shall be processed and a summary assessment shall be done compulsorily before initiating a scrutiny assessment

This amendment would help in completing the scrutiny assessment at a much faster pace with reduced litigative issues. Refund orders under Section 143 (1) shall now be compulsorily issued prior to issuing notices for scrutiny. This is a huge relief for assessees claiming refunds especially high value refunds.

The amendment will take effect from the 1st day of April, 2017 and will, accordingly apply in relation to assessment year 2017-2018 and subsequent years.