The income tax ward/circle denotes the jurisdiction of an income tax assessing officer. It is a direct way to view your income tax ward/circle from the home page of the income tax filing website. In this process, you have to log in to your e-filing tax account by entering PAN details and registered mobile number.

Jurisdiction, in law, the authority of a court to hear and determine cases. A court may also have authority to operate within a certain territory. Summary jurisdiction, in which a magistrate or judge has power to conduct proceedings resulting in a conviction without jury trial, is limited in the U.S. to petty offenses.

Finding Income Tax Jurisdiction

1. Step 1: Visit the official website. The user has to log in to the official website of the Income Tax Department.
2. Step 2: Know your PAN. The user has to click the link ‘Know Your PAN’.
3. Step 3: Enter the Details.
4. Step 4: Click Submit.
5. Step 5: OTP.
6. Step 6: Submit.

Open the link of GST i.e. https://gst.gov.in , and then go to Search Taxpayer option; fill your GSTIN/UIN no. from where you will get all the details of the Taxpayer including Central jurisdiction and State jurisdiction. The Jurisdiction which is shown in RED Colour is the actual taxable jurisdiction of the Taxpayer.

You have to write to your current assessing officer regarding your change of place and request him to transfer your case records and jurisdiction to appropriate AO. Once both the officers are satisfied about proposed transfer, the old Assessing Officer will initiate transfer process and migrate your PAN to the new AO.

A best judgement assessment is an income tax assessment which is performed by the assessing officer with limited knowledge about the financial circumstances of the assessee. Assessees may fail to give the assessing officer adequate co-operation regarding the assessment procedure.

There are two types of judgement assessment: Compulsory best judgment assessment made by the assessing officer in cases of non-co-operation on the part of the assessee or when the assessee is in default as regards supplying informations.

The Best Judgment Assessment is a procedure under the IT Act to comply with the principles of natural justice10. Vide Section 141 of the Income Tax Act, 2003 the Assessing Officer is under an obligation to make an assessment of the total income or less to the best of his judgment in the following cases.

Against a best judgment assessment, an assessee has a right to file an appeal under section 246A of the Act or to apply for revision under section 246 before the Income Tax Commissioner. The best judgment assessment is normally made after providing the assessee an opportunity of being heard.

There may be situations where a tax officer needs to assess the income of a person without having all the necessary information in hand. Such an assessment is called ‘Best Judgement Assessment’ since the tax officer tries to estimate the tax liability by himself based on the limited information available.

The officer will assess the tax liability for relevant tax periods to the best of his judgement. He can issue assessment order within 5 years from the due date of the annual return for the year when the tax was not paid.

Scrutiny assessment under Section 143(3) is a detailed assessment of an income tax return filed by a taxpayer. The objective of a scrutiny assessment is to ensure that the taxpayer has not understated the income or has not computed excessive loss or has not underpaid the tax in any manner.

The process of scrutiny starts with the notice from the income tax department. Assessing Officer conduct inquiries as deemed necessary from the assessee. The idea is to monitor the income declared and other deductions as mentioned by the employee during the income tax return process.

Procedure for Scrutiny Assessment by Income Tax Department

1. Copies of bank statements along with explanations for all debit and credit entries,
2. Credit card statements and source of payment thereof,
3. Investments made during the year in immovable property, fixed deposits, shares, debentures, bonds, etc., and sources thereof,
4. Proof for claims of deductions and expenditures,