Section 130 - Faceless Jurisdiction of Income-tax Authorities
Case Laws & Commentary - Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) - bharattax.co Treatise
Provision: Section 130 - empowers the Central Government to make a scheme, by notification, for faceless exercise of jurisdiction (including under sections 124, 127 and 129), eliminating the interface between authority and assessee to the extent technologically feasible and optimising the use of resources through economies of scale and functional specialisation.
Chapter / Part: Chapter XIII, Part B - Jurisdiction.
Inserted: By the Finance Act, 2020, with effect from 1 November 2020.
FA 2026 status: Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Nature: Recent, enabling provision underpinning faceless/jurisdiction-less administration. No direct case law construing section 130 itself (candour rule); governed by notified schemes.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
The statutory basis for faceless jurisdiction
Section 130 is the jurisdiction-side counterpart of the faceless-assessment and faceless-appeal reforms. It authorises the Central Government to notify a scheme under which the jurisdiction of income-tax authorities - including the assignment of jurisdiction (section 124), the transfer of cases (section 127) and continuity on change of incumbency (section 129) - is exercised in a faceless manner. The stated objects are to eliminate, so far as technologically feasible, the personal interface between the authority and the assessee; to optimise resource use through economies of scale and functional specialisation; and to introduce a team-based exercise of jurisdiction. The Central Government may, for that purpose, direct that any provision of the Act shall apply with exceptions, modifications and adaptations specified in the notification, the notification being subject to laying before Parliament.
How it fits with the faceless schemes
Section 130 dovetails with section 144B (faceless assessment) and the faceless schemes notified for appeals, penalty and information-gathering. Where a notified scheme applies, the traditional territorial/class-based jurisdiction under section 120 yields to the dynamic, jurisdiction-less allocation of cases among assessment and review units. Section 130 supplies the legal authority to so re-allocate jurisdictional functions and to adapt sections 124, 127 and 129 to the faceless environment.
Litigation profile and candour
There is, as yet, no reported decision construing section 130 itself; this is stated candidly. The substantial body of litigation on faceless administration has centred on the assessment machinery in section 144B (in particular the mandatory nature of the draft order, show-cause and personal-hearing requirements), where the courts have repeatedly set aside orders for breach of the prescribed faceless procedure and of natural justice. Those decisions supply the standards of fairness that any scheme framed under section 130 must also satisfy, and are the nearest governing authority.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
Reproduced below is section 130 as it stands in the bare Act.
130. (1) The Central Government may make a scheme, by notification in the Official Gazette, for the purposes of—
(a) exercise of all or any of the powers and performance of all or any of the functions conferred on, or, as the case may be, assigned to income-tax authorities by or under this Act as referred to in section 120; or
(b) vesting the jurisdiction with the Assessing Officer as referred to in section 124; or
(c) exercise of power to transfer cases under section 127; or
(d) exercise of jurisdiction in case of change of incumbency as referred to in section 129, so as to impart greater efficiency, transparency and accountability by—
(i) eliminating the interface between the income-tax authority and the assessee or any other person, to the extent technologically feasible;
(ii) optimising utilisation of the resources through economies of scale and functional specialisation;
(iii) introducing a team-based exercise of powers and performance of functions by two or more income-tax authorities, concurrently, in respect of any area or persons or classes of persons or incomes or classes of income or cases or classes of cases, with dynamic jurisdiction.
(2) The Central Government may, for the purpose of giving effect to the scheme made under sub-section (1), by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that any of the provisions of this Act shall not apply or shall apply with such exceptions, modifications and adaptations as may be specified in the notification:
Provided that no direction shall be issued after the 31st day of March, 2022.
(3) Every notification issued under sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) shall, as soon as may be after the notification is issued, be laid before each House of Parliament.
Note: Section 130 has not been directly construed in any reported decision. The authorities below arise on the cognate faceless-assessment machinery (section 144B) and supply the natural-justice standards that a faceless-jurisdiction scheme must meet.
C. AUTHORITIES
Cluster 1 - Faceless procedure must observe natural justice (cognate, s. 144B)
As there is no direct authority on section 130, the following decisions on the faceless-assessment machinery supply the controlling fairness standards.
Mantra Industries Ltd. v. National Faceless Assessment Centre (2022) 441 ITR 467 (Bom); SLP before the Supreme Court
Forum / Citation: Bombay High Court, 11 October 2021; Special Leave Petition admitted by the Supreme Court (11 April 2022). Reported: (2022) 441 ITR 467 (Bom); (2021) 131 taxmann.com 165; (2021) 283 Taxman 459.
Held: An assessment framed under the faceless scheme in breach of the mandatory requirements (draft assessment order, show-cause notice and opportunity of personal hearing) is liable to be set aside; the faceless procedure does not dilute, but reinforces, the requirements of natural justice.
Principle: A faceless mode of exercising jurisdiction must scrupulously observe the prescribed procedure and the right to be heard.
Relevance: Supplies the fairness benchmark for any scheme framed under section 130.
Sanjay Aggarwal v. National Faceless Assessment Centre (2021) 436 ITR 180 (Del)
Forum / Citation: Delhi High Court, 2 June 2021. Reported: (2021) 436 ITR 180 (Del); (2021) 203 DTR 73; (2021) 321 CTR 145; (2021) 281 Taxman 282.
Held: Where the assessee sought a personal hearing through video conferencing under the faceless scheme and it was denied, the assessment order was set aside; the opportunity of hearing in the faceless regime is a substantive right, not a discretionary courtesy.
Principle: The faceless/jurisdiction-less mode of administration must honour the statutory and natural-justice right to be heard.
Relevance: Confirms the standards a section 130 scheme must satisfy in practice.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text reproduced verbatim from the bare Act (Chapter XIII, ss. 116-138). Each authority is cited with its full parallel reporter citations as reported; Supreme Court, High Court and Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) rulings are identified as such. Where a section has not been directly construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority is given. For professional reference; not legal advice.
CHAPTER XIII - INCOME-TAX AUTHORITIES
Section 130 - Faceless Jurisdiction of Income-tax Authorities
Case Laws & Commentary - Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) - bharattax.co Treatise
Provision: Section 130 - empowers the Central Government to make a scheme, by notification, for faceless exercise of jurisdiction (including under sections 124, 127 and 129), eliminating the interface between authority and assessee to the extent technologically feasible and optimising the use of resources through economies of scale and functional specialisation.
Chapter / Part: Chapter XIII, Part B - Jurisdiction.
Inserted: By the Finance Act, 2020, with effect from 1 November 2020.
FA 2026 status: Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Nature: Recent, enabling provision underpinning faceless/jurisdiction-less administration. No direct case law construing section 130 itself (candour rule); governed by notified schemes.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
The statutory basis for faceless jurisdiction
Section 130 is the jurisdiction-side counterpart of the faceless-assessment and faceless-appeal reforms. It authorises the Central Government to notify a scheme under which the jurisdiction of income-tax authorities - including the assignment of jurisdiction (section 124), the transfer of cases (section 127) and continuity on change of incumbency (section 129) - is exercised in a faceless manner. The stated objects are to eliminate, so far as technologically feasible, the personal interface between the authority and the assessee; to optimise resource use through economies of scale and functional specialisation; and to introduce a team-based exercise of jurisdiction. The Central Government may, for that purpose, direct that any provision of the Act shall apply with exceptions, modifications and adaptations specified in the notification, the notification being subject to laying before Parliament.
How it fits with the faceless schemes
Section 130 dovetails with section 144B (faceless assessment) and the faceless schemes notified for appeals, penalty and information-gathering. Where a notified scheme applies, the traditional territorial/class-based jurisdiction under section 120 yields to the dynamic, jurisdiction-less allocation of cases among assessment and review units. Section 130 supplies the legal authority to so re-allocate jurisdictional functions and to adapt sections 124, 127 and 129 to the faceless environment.
Litigation profile and candour
There is, as yet, no reported decision construing section 130 itself; this is stated candidly. The substantial body of litigation on faceless administration has centred on the assessment machinery in section 144B (in particular the mandatory nature of the draft order, show-cause and personal-hearing requirements), where the courts have repeatedly set aside orders for breach of the prescribed faceless procedure and of natural justice. Those decisions supply the standards of fairness that any scheme framed under section 130 must also satisfy, and are the nearest governing authority.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
Reproduced below is section 130 as it stands in the bare Act.
130. (1) The Central Government may make a scheme, by notification in the Official Gazette, for the purposes of—
(a) exercise of all or any of the powers and performance of all or any of the functions conferred on, or, as the case may be, assigned to income-tax authorities by or under this Act as referred to in section 120; or
(b) vesting the jurisdiction with the Assessing Officer as referred to in section 124; or
(c) exercise of power to transfer cases under section 127; or
(d) exercise of jurisdiction in case of change of incumbency as referred to in section 129, so as to impart greater efficiency, transparency and accountability by—
(i) eliminating the interface between the income-tax authority and the assessee or any other person, to the extent technologically feasible;
(ii) optimising utilisation of the resources through economies of scale and functional specialisation;
(iii) introducing a team-based exercise of powers and performance of functions by two or more income-tax authorities, concurrently, in respect of any area or persons or classes of persons or incomes or classes of income or cases or classes of cases, with dynamic jurisdiction.
(2) The Central Government may, for the purpose of giving effect to the scheme made under sub-section (1), by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that any of the provisions of this Act shall not apply or shall apply with such exceptions, modifications and adaptations as may be specified in the notification:
Provided that no direction shall be issued after the 31st day of March, 2022.
(3) Every notification issued under sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) shall, as soon as may be after the notification is issued, be laid before each House of Parliament.
Note: Section 130 has not been directly construed in any reported decision. The authorities below arise on the cognate faceless-assessment machinery (section 144B) and supply the natural-justice standards that a faceless-jurisdiction scheme must meet.
C. AUTHORITIES
Cluster 1 - Faceless procedure must observe natural justice (cognate, s. 144B)
As there is no direct authority on section 130, the following decisions on the faceless-assessment machinery supply the controlling fairness standards.
Mantra Industries Ltd. v. National Faceless Assessment Centre (2022) 441 ITR 467 (Bom); SLP before the Supreme Court
Forum / Citation: Bombay High Court, 11 October 2021; Special Leave Petition admitted by the Supreme Court (11 April 2022). Reported: (2022) 441 ITR 467 (Bom); (2021) 131 taxmann.com 165; (2021) 283 Taxman 459.
Held: An assessment framed under the faceless scheme in breach of the mandatory requirements (draft assessment order, show-cause notice and opportunity of personal hearing) is liable to be set aside; the faceless procedure does not dilute, but reinforces, the requirements of natural justice.
Principle: A faceless mode of exercising jurisdiction must scrupulously observe the prescribed procedure and the right to be heard.
Relevance: Supplies the fairness benchmark for any scheme framed under section 130.
Sanjay Aggarwal v. National Faceless Assessment Centre (2021) 436 ITR 180 (Del)
Forum / Citation: Delhi High Court, 2 June 2021. Reported: (2021) 436 ITR 180 (Del); (2021) 203 DTR 73; (2021) 321 CTR 145; (2021) 281 Taxman 282.
Held: Where the assessee sought a personal hearing through video conferencing under the faceless scheme and it was denied, the assessment order was set aside; the opportunity of hearing in the faceless regime is a substantive right, not a discretionary courtesy.
Principle: The faceless/jurisdiction-less mode of administration must honour the statutory and natural-justice right to be heard.
Relevance: Confirms the standards a section 130 scheme must satisfy in practice.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text reproduced verbatim from the bare Act (Chapter XIII, ss. 116-138). Each authority is cited with its full parallel reporter citations as reported; Supreme Court, High Court and Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) rulings are identified as such. Where a section has not been directly construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority is given. For professional reference; not legal advice.