The Income Tax (IT) Department has made the entire interaction of IT scrutiny faceless through "E-Proceeding."

In a letter issued to field officers, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said on Monday that "except for search-related assessments, proceedings in other pending scrutiny assessment cases shall be conducted only through the 'E-proceeding' functionality in ITBA/e-filing."

Only stations with limited bandwidth for e-communications will be given some relaxation till March 31, 2018. Notices will be required to be issued electronically to the e-filing account of the assessee. All communications to be signed digitally by the assessing officer.

If an assessee objects to 'E-Proceeding' the case may be put on hold for the time being, as per the order.

This decision comes as a move to curb corruption and promote "Digital India." The promise of a faceless IT scrutiny system was made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Union Budget speech on 1st February 2018.