Deputy commissioner, IRS officer sent to custody in CBI faceless assessment scam

The CBI sought seven-day police remand for the accused, saying they were required to be confronted to unearth the larger conspiracy in the matter.

A Delhi court on Saturday sent a deputy commissioner of the income tax department and a chartered accountant, who were arrested for allegedly sabotaging the faceless scheme for I-T assessment, to three-day CBI custody.

The accused were arrested Friday following an FIR of February. (Pixabay/Representative)

Principal District & Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandana remanded Deputy Commissioner Vijayendra R and DK Agarwal in custody after they were produced before the court by the CBI.

The accused were arrested Friday following an FIR of February related to an alleged scam arising out of the Faceless Assessment Scheme of the I-T department.

The CBI sought seven-day police remand for the accused, saying they were required to be confronted to unearth the larger conspiracy in the matter.

Senior Advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey, appearing for Vijayendra, opposed the CBI plea, claiming the arrest was not necessitated as the accused was never called for investigation by the probe agency.

He added that the officer was already suspended since November 2024 and there was no apprehension of destruction or influence over any evidence.

The CBI probe in the matter has shown that the duo contacted various assesses of pending high-value I-T assessment cases, promising favourable orders in their cases under scrutiny in return for bribes, the agency said.

The finance ministry introduced the faceless scheme to increase transparency, reduce human interface and prevent corruption, it said.

The scheme is called "faceless" simply because the assessee will not get to see the face of his or her assessing officer and know who will be conducting the assessments, the CBI said, adding that it will reduce the interface, discretion and corruption.