Section 245 — Faceless Jurisdiction | ITA 2025

Section 245 — - FACELESS JURISDICTION OF INCOME-TAX AUTHORITIES

Section 245 is the substantive equivalent of 1961 s. 130 -- the FACELESS JURISDICTION FRAMEWORK introduced FA 2020 / FA 2022 enabling income-tax authorities to operate WITHOUT TRADITIONAL JURISDICTIONAL CONSTRAINTS in faceless mode. The provision empowers CG to MAKE SCHEMES (by notification) for: (a) faceless allocation / handling of cases; (b) DYNAMIC TEAM-BASED CASE PROCESSING (single AU may handle cases from anywhere in India); (c) elimination of personal interaction; (d) electronic communication-only mode. Section 245 provides the LEGAL ANCHOR for faceless schemes operationalised under s. 273 (Faceless Assessment) / similar provisions. Practitioner relevance: post-2020, jurisdictional-AO concept transformed; cases dynamically allocated; physical-AO interaction limited.

Statutory text — Income-tax Act, 2025

Marginal note -- Faceless jurisdiction of income-tax authorities

(1) The Central Government may, by notification54a, make a scheme 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 assigned to, income-tax authorities under this Act referred to in section 241;

(b) vesting the jurisdiction with the Assessing Officer under section 242; or

(c) exercise of power to transfer cases under section 243; or

(d) exercise of jurisdiction in case of change of incumbency under section 244.

(2) The scheme referred to in sub-section (1) shall be made to impart greater efficiency, transparency and accountability by—

(a) eliminating the interface between the income-tax authority and the assessee or any other person, to the extent technologically feasible;

(b) optimising utilisation of the resources through economies of scale and functional specialisation;

(c) 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.

(3) The Central Government may, for the purpose of giving effect to the scheme made under sub-section (1), by notification, direct that any of the provisions of this Act shall not apply or shall apply with such exceptions, modifications and adaptations as specified in such notification.

(4) Every notification issued under sub-sections (1) and (3) shall, as soon as may be after the notification is issued, be laid before each House of Parliament. B.—Powers Power regarding discovery, production of evidence, etc.

Corresponding provision — 1961 regime

INCOME-TAX ACT, 2025	INCOME-TAX ACT, 1961
INCOME-TAX ACT, 2025 -- s. 245	INCOME-TAX ACT, 1961 -- s. 130
Sub-s. (1) -- CG empowered to make faceless scheme	1961 s. 130 [FA 2020]
Faceless allocation / handling	1961 s. 130 + s. 144B framework
Dynamic team-based processing	1961 s. 144B(3) read with NFAC structure
Elimination of personal interaction	1961 s. 144B(7)(xii) [FA 2020]
Electronic-only communication	1961 s. 144B / various

STATUTORY ARCHITECTURE

FACELESS JURISDICTION FRAMEWORK objectives: (a) ELIMINATION of physical taxpayer-AO interface; (b) DYNAMIC CASE ALLOCATION across geographic boundaries; (c) STANDARDISATION of assessment quality; (d) REDUCTION of corruption / harassment risks; (e) FASTER PROCESSING through technology / parallel processing. OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK: (I) NATIONAL FACELESS ASSESSMENT CENTRE (NFAC) Bengaluru -- apex; (II) REGIONAL FACELESS ASSESSMENT CENTRES (ReFACs) across major cities; (III) ASSESSMENT UNITS (AUs) -- conduct assessment; (IV) VERIFICATION UNITS (VUs) -- inquiries; (V) TECHNICAL UNITS (TUs) -- specialist assistance; (VI) REVIEW UNITS (RUs) -- quality review. Operational specifics under s. 273 (Faceless Assessment); s. 245 provides the legal authority. EXPANSION OVER TIME: (a) FA 2020 -- assessment / re-assessment / appeals (CIT-A); (b) FA 2021 -- imposition of penalty / collection / DRP; (c) FA 2022 -- personal hearing via VC; reopened scrutiny under s. 279/281; (d) FA 2023+ -- broader applications including TP / GAAR procedural elements.

PRACTITIONER NOTES

(i) E-PORTAL VIGILANCE -- all faceless communications via e-filing portal; daily check during scrutiny periods. (ii) NO PHYSICAL VISITS -- physical visits to AO office not entertained for faceless-scope matters. (iii) PERSONAL HEARING REQUEST -- FA 2022 enabled VC-based hearing on request for adverse-variation cases. (iv) DOCUMENTATION DISCIPLINE -- comprehensive uploads; no piecemeal; PDF format with proper indexing. (v) MONITOR DRAFT ASSESSMENTS -- review carefully before final order; limited window for objections. (vi) TIME-LIMIT TRACKING -- faceless framework retains time-limits; barred-by-time defence remains.

CROSS-REFERENCES

Section 241 -- Jurisdiction (general framework).
Section 273 -- Faceless Assessment.
Section 270 -- Assessment.
Sections 357-359 -- Faceless appeals.
CBDT Notification 13-Aug-2020 -- Faceless Assessment Scheme.
CBDT Notification 28-Mar-2022 -- Personal hearing VC.

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