India will roll out nationwide faceless assessment for imports beginning October 31, which will be expanded across all ports by the year end.
The move follows pilot projects conducted by the customs department in Chennai and Bengaluru from June, which were extended to Delhi and Mumbai last month.
"Board has decided to roll out the Faceless Assessment at an all India level in all ports of import and for all imported goods by October 31, 2020," the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said in a circular.
Faceless assessment of customs are part of reforms under Turant Customs to make the customs administration more modern, efficient, and professional.
Tax authorities are moving towards going completely faceless or digital, with the government having launched faceless assessment for income tax assessments and faceless appeal beginning from September 25.
The larger aim of the exercise is to improve ease of doing business, reduce corruption and tax evasion.
On the indirect tax side, customs will be the first to undergo faceless, contactless and paperless transition, even as industry has demanded for goods and services tax assessments to be done via faceless mechanism.
The CBIC has constituted 11 National Assessment Centres (NACs), consisting of the Principal Commissioners/ Commissioners of Customs.
Assessing officers physically located in a particular jurisdiction will assess bills of entry of imports of a different customs station or port, which will be assigned to them through an automatic system. The processing will be done without any direct interaction between the importer and Customs authorities.
Source:-economictimes.indiatimes.com