Prime Minister Narendra unveiled a faceless tax assessment aimed at making the system free, fair and transparent. The new taxpayers’ charter will treat every taxpayer as honest, unless proven otherwise.

Launching the ‘Transparent Taxation – Honouring The Honest Platform‘ through video conferencing, Modi said the taxpayer base at just 1.5 crore in India is very low and urged those who owe taxes to come forward and honestly pay their dues and contribute to nation-building.

Here are the salient features of the new tax charter:

1. The tax department will treat every taxpayer as honest, unless there is a reason to believe otherwise.

2. Tax officers are now barred from disclosing taxpayer information unless authorised by law.

3. Every taxpayer will be provided a fair and impartial mechanism to file appeals and reviews. The taxpayer will also be allowed to choose an authorised representative of his choice for lodging a complaint.

4. The I-T Department will periodically publish standards for service delivery and provide a fair and just system to resolve tax issues in a time-bound manner.

5. The charter expects taxpayers to pay taxes on time and be honest and compliant.

6. The charter also expects the taxpayer to maintain accurate records and respond in timely manner. Taxpayers are also urged to keep track of the filing information and submissions being made by their authorised representative.