MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(Department of Revenue)
(CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES)
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 5th April, 2022
(INCOME-TAX)
S.O. 1642(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 245MA
of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby makes the following Scheme,
namely:__
-
Short title and commencement.––(1) This Scheme may be called the e-Dispute Resolution Scheme,
-
(2) It shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
-
Definitions.–– (1) In this Scheme, unless the context otherwise requires, ––
- (a) “Act” means the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);
- (b) “addressee” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of
section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000);
- (c) “authorised representative” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in sub-section (2)
of section 288 of the Act;
- (d) “computer resource” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (k) of sub-
section (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000);
- (e) “computer system” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (l) of sub-section
(1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000);
- (f) “computer resource of assessee” shall include assessee’s registered account in designated
portal of the Income-tax Department, the Mobile App linked to the registered mobile number
of the assessee, or the registered email address of the assessee with his email service
provider;
- (g) “digital signature” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (p) of sub-section
(1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000);
- (h) “designated portal” means the web portal designated as such by the Principal Director
General of Income-tax (Systems) or the Director General of Income-tax (Systems), as the
case may be;
- (i) “Dispute Resolution Committee” means the Dispute Resolution Committee constituted in
accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 245MA of the Act read with rule
44DAA of the Income-tax Rules, 1962;
- (j) “electronic record” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (t) of sub-section
(1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000);
- (k) “email” or “electronic mail” and “electronic mail message” means a message or information
created or transmitted or received on a computer, computer system, computer resource or
communication device including attachments in text, image, audio, video and any other
electronic record, which may be transmitted with the message;
- (l) “modified order” means an order passed by the assessing officer to give effect to the order of
resolution of the Dispute Resolution Committee;
- (m) “Official email of the Dispute Resolution Committee” means the email allocated for the
purpose of dispute resolution to each Dispute Resolution Committee by the Pr. DGIT
(Systems) or DGIT (Systems), as the case may be;
- (n) “registered account” of the assessee means the electronic filing account registered by the
assessee in designated portal;
- (o) “registered e-mail address” means the e-mail address at which an electronic communication
may be delivered or transmitted to the addressee, including-
- (i) the email address available in the electronic filing account of the addressee registered
in the designated portal; or
- (ii) the e-mail address available in the last income-tax return furnished by the addressee;
or
- (iii) the e-mail address available in the permanent account number database relating to
the addressee; or
- (iv) in the case of addressee being an individual who possesses the Aadhaar number, the
e-mail address of addressee available in the database of Unique Identification
Authority of India; or
- (v) in the case of addressee being a company, the e-mail address of the company as
available on the official website of Ministry of Corporate Affairs; or
- (vi) any e-mail address made available by the addressee to the income-tax authority or
any person authorised by such authority;
- (p) “registered mobile number” of the assessee means the mobile number of the assessee, or his
authorised representative, appearing in the user profile of the electronic filing account
registered by the assessee in the designated portal;
- (q) “Rules” means the Income-tax Rules, 1962;
- (r) “specified conditions” means the specified conditions referred to in clause (a) of the
Explanation to section 245MA of the Act;
- (s) “specified order” means the specified order referred to in clause (b) of the Explanation to
section 245MA of the Act;
- (t) “video conferencing or video telephony” means the technological solutions for the reception
and transmission of audio-video signals by users at different locations, for communication
between people in real-time.
(2) Words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Act shall have the meaning
respectively assigned to them in the Act.
-
Scope of the Scheme.–– The dispute resolution under this Scheme shall be made by the Dispute
Resolution Committee on applications made for dispute resolution under Chapter XIX-AA of the Act in
respect of dispute arising from any variation in the specified order by such persons or class of persons, as
may be specified by the Board.
-
Procedure in dispute resolution.–– (1) The application for dispute resolution, as referred to in
paragraph 3, shall be dealt with in the following manner, namely:—
Application for dispute resolution
- (i) the assessee who fulfils the specified conditions may, in respect of any specified order, file an
application electronically for dispute resolution to the Dispute Resolution Committee designated
for the region of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income-tax having jurisdiction over the
assessee;
- (ii) the application shall be filed in the Form No. 34BC referred to in rule 44DAB:
- (a) within such time from the date of constitution of the Dispute Resolution Committee, as
may be specified by the Board, for cases where appeal has already been filed and is
pending before the Commissioner (Appeals); or
- (b) within one month from the date of receipt of specified order, in any other case;
- (iii) the application shall be submitted by email to the official email of the Dispute Resolution
Committee alongwith proof of payment of tax on the returned income, if available and
accompany a fee of one thousand rupees as mentioned in sub-rule (2) of rule 44DAB.
Screening of application
- (iv) the Dispute Resolution Committee shall examine the application with respect to the specified
conditions and criteria for specified order;
- (v) upon such examination the Dispute Resolution Committee, where it considers that the
application for dispute resolution should be rejected, shall serve a notice calling upon the
assessee to show cause as to why his application should not be rejected, specifying a date and
time for filing a response;
- (vi) the Dispute Resolution Committee shall, on a request by the assessee, provide him an
opportunity of being heard through video telephony or video conferencing facility, to the extent
technologically feasible;
- (vii) the assessee shall furnish a response to the show-cause notice referred to in clause (v) within
the specified date and time or such extended time as may be allowed on the basis of application
made in this behalf, to the Dispute Resolution Committee;
- (viii) the Dispute Resolution Committee may, after considering the response furnished by the
assessee in clause (vii), reject the application or proceed to decide the application on merits in
accordance with the procedure laid out in clauses (ix) to (xiv) and where no such response is
furnished reject the application;
- (ix) the decision of the Dispute Resolution Committee that the application for dispute resolution
should be allowed to be proceeded with or rejected, shall be communicated to the assessee on
his registered e-mail address;
- (x) the assessee shall, within thirty days of receipt of the communication that the application is
admitted as referred to in clause (ix), be required to submit a proof of withdrawal of appeal
filed under section 246A of the Act or withdrawal of application before the Dispute Resolution
panel, if any, to the Dispute Resolution Committee or convey that there is no aforesaid
proceeding pending in his case, failing which the Dispute Resolution Committee may reject the
application.
Procedure to be followed by Dispute Resolution Committee
- (xi) the Dispute Resolution Committee may, upon admission of the application, as referred to in
clause (ix), and subsequent to the receipt of the response of the assessee in clause (x), call for
records from the income-tax authority and further examine, as it may deem fit, with respect to
the issues covered in the application;
- (xii) the Dispute Resolution Committee may seek a report from the assessing officer on the issues
covered in the application or on any other issue arising during the course of proceedings;
- (xiii) the Dispute Resolution Committee may before disposing off the application, call for further
information from the assessee or any other person by sending an email to his registered email
address;
- (xiv) the assessee shall electronically submit its response to the Dispute Resolution Committee,
within the time specified or such time as may be extended by the Dispute Resolution
Committee on the basis of an application in this behalf;
- (xv) the Dispute Resolution Committee may, after considering the material available on record,
including any further information or evidence received from the assessee, income-tax authority
or any other person, may decide —
- (a) to make modifications to the variations in specified order, which are not prejudicial to the
interest of the assessee, and decide for waiver of penalty and immunity from prosecution in
accordance with the provisions of rule 44DAC, and pass an order of resolution
accordingly; or
- (b) to not make modifications to the variations in the specified order, but however may decide
for waiver of penalty and immunity from prosecution provisions in accordance with the
provisions of rule 44DAC, and pass an order of resolution accordingly, which shall be
treated as an order not prejudicial to the interest of the assessee; or
- (c) to not make any modification to the specified order, and pass an order disposing off the
application, which shall be treated as an order 'not prejudicial to the interest of the
assessee,
within six months from the end of the month in which application for dispute resolution is
admitted by the Dispute Resolution Committee as per clause (viii);
- (xvi) the Dispute Resolution Committee shall serve a copy of the order of resolution or order
disposing off the application, as the case may be, upon the assessee and also the assessing
officer for giving effect to the same, if so required;
- (xvii) where the specified order is an order of the eligible assessee as referred to in sub-section (1) of
section 144C of the Act, the assessee shall not be eligible to file any reference to the Dispute
Resolution Panel or an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) against the modified order;
- (xviii) the assessing officer shall serve a copy of the modified order along with notice of demand upon
the assessee specifying a date for making payment of demand;
- (xix) the assessee shall, furnish proof of payment of the said demand to the Dispute Resolution
Committee and also to the assessing officer;
- (xx) the Dispute Resolution Committee shall, on receipt of confirmation of payment of demand, by
an order in writing, grant immunity from prosecution and waiver of penalty if applicable, in
accordance with the provisions of rule 44DAC.
