October 7 2019 : PIB Summary & Analysis

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October 7th, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here

National e-Assessment Center (NeAC)

• The e-Assessment scheme will facilitate faceless assessment of income tax returns through completely electronic communication between tax officials and taxpayers.
  • NeAC will be an independent office that will look after the work of e-Assessment scheme
• Under the new system, taxpayers will receive notices on their registered emails as well as on the web portal www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in with real-time alert through SMS on their registered mobile number, specifying the issues for which their cases have been selected for scrutiny.
• The replies to the notices can be prepared at ease by the taxpayers at their own residence or office and be sent by email to the National e-Assessment Centre by uploading the same on the designated web portal.
• This new initiative of faceless assessment is expected to increase ease of compliance for taxpayers as the cost and anxiety of taxpayers are likely to be greatly reduced.
• No human interface with the Department would be a game-changer. This is another initiative by CBDT in the field of ease of compliance for our taxpayers.

Structure:

• There would be a NeAC in Delhi to be headed by Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax.
• There are 8 Regional e-Assessment Centres (ReAC) set up at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad which would comprise Assessment unit, Review unit, Technical unit and Verification units.
• In view of the dynamic and all India jurisdiction of all officers of NeAC and ReAC, this kind of connective and collaborative effort of officers is likely to lead to a better quality of assessments.

Advantages of Faceless Assessment:

• The setting up of NeAC of the Income Tax Department is a momentous step towards the larger objectives of better taxpayer service, reduction of taxpayer grievances in line with Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digital India’ and promotion of Ease of Doing Business.
• NeAC eliminates human interface between Assessing Officer and Assessee
• New System optimises the utilisation of resources through economies of scale
• NeAC introduces team-based assessment with dynamic jurisdiction
• Ease of compliance for taxpayers
• Brings transparency and efficiency, thus improves the quality of assessment and monitoring
• Functional specialisation as only one agency dealing with faceless assessment
• Expeditious disposal of cases
• Standardisation and quality management

Context

• Revenue Secretary inaugurated National e-Assessment Scheme (NeAC).

eDantseva website

• This is the initiative of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry in collaboration with AIIMS and other stakeholders.
  • It aims to sensitize the public about the significance of maintaining optimum oral health and equips them with the tools and knowledge to do so, including awareness on the nearest oral health service facility.
• e-DantSeva contains information about the National Oral Health Program, detailed list of all the dental facility and colleges, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material and a unique feature called the ‘Symptom Checker’.
• The symptom checker provides information on symptoms of dental/oral health problems, ways to prevent these, the treatment modes, and also directs the user to find their nearest available dental facility (public and private sectors both).
• The website also provides GPRS route/images/satellite images of the facility for easier access to the general population.

Context

• Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched the eDantseva website and mobile application, the first ever national digital platform on oral health information and knowledge dissemination.

World Cotton Day

• The first-ever World Cotton Day (WCD) was hosted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva in 2019.
• The international day aims to celebrate the advantages of cotton, ranging from its qualities as a natural fibre to the benefits people obtain from its production, transformation, trade and consumption.
• World Cotton Day also aims to highlight the challenges faced by the world’s cotton economies, as cotton is significant for the least developed, developing and developed economies worldwide.

Context

• Textiles Minister Addresses WTO on World Cotton Day in Geneva, and said that India remains committed to building on its longstanding development partnership with Africa, especially in the field of cotton.

Cotton Technical Assistance Programme (TAP)

• TAP is an technical assistance programme to Cotton sector by the Department of Commerce of India in 6 African countries, namely – Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda from 2012 to 2018.
• The Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) covers the following broad areas: –
  • Increasing cotton production (area expansion and productivity enhancement)
  • Improving Extension & Support Service Efficiency
  • Enhancing R&D/ Quality Control
  • Marketing/Distribution Infrastructure
  • Strengthening/development of cotton residue-based value addition industry
  • Creating/Strengthening Downstream Industry in Textiles and Clothing
• India will be announcing the launch of the second phase of the Cotton Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) for Africa at the Partners Conference in Geneva.
• In the five year long second phase, the programme will be scaled up in size and coverage and will be introduced in five additional countries, namely Mali, Ghana, Togo, Zambia and Tanzania.

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October 7th, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here

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