The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked nine persons, including an Income-Tax Deputy Commissioner and two Inspectors, apart from five chartered accountants (CAs), for allegedly attempting to sabotage the “Faceless Scheme of Assessment” of the department. Searches have been conducted at 18 places in various States.
The accused have been identified in the First Information Report as Deputy Commissioner Vijayendra R. (Delhi); Inspectors Dinesh Kumar Verma and Binayak Sharma, both posted in Mumbai; Chartered Accountants Malik Girish Ananda (Delhi), Sushil Kumar (Delhi), Shivratan Mangelal Singrodia (Mumbai), Bhavesh Parshottambhai Rakholia (Mumbai), and Prathik Lenin (Kottayam, Kerala); and Dinesh Kumar Agrawal (Delhi).
On Thursday (February 6, 2025), the agency conducted searches on the premises of accused persons and suspects in cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Thane (Maharashtra), West Champaran (Bihar), Bengaluru, and Kottayam in Kerala.
In 2019, the Central government had launched the faceless assessment system to eliminate face-to-face interaction between taxpayers and the Income-Tax Department, as part of a series of reforms in the direct tax administration.
However, it is alleged that, to circumvent the system, a group of CAs in a criminal conspiracy with some Income-Tax officials was clandestinely disclosing the names of pending high-value assessment, appeal, or refund cases. They would approach the assessees concerned and offer to get their cases resolved in lieu of pecuniary benefits.
“The information disclosed by these accused facilitates the assessee to physically contact the assessing/appellate officer. Thus, the accused were trying to sabotage the ‘Faceless Scheme of Assessment’ brought in by the Government of India,” said the agency.
In this case, the complaint was lodged by a company owner alleging that Mr. Agrawal, in collusion with unknown CAs and public servants of the Income-Tax Department, gained access to the details of many high-value pending assessment and high value refund cases. He would, either himself or through others, approach the assessees and offer to settle the pending cases in their favour in exchange for pecuniary benefits.
During the preliminary enquiry, the agency found multiple WhatsApp chats purportedly between Mr. Agrawal and Mr. Vijayendra, wherein information regarding assessment officers, other particulars and issues along with the amounts involved in various pending cases in the faceless proceedings were shared by the 2015-batch Indian Revenue Service official.
Such details were shared allegedly by Mr. Agrawal with various CAs to coordinate with the assessees interested in getting their cases settled. The accused persons would identify the assessment officers and facilitate their contact with the assessees concerned, according to the CBI.
