NEW DELHI: In what can be considered a relief for taxpayers, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has directed field offices against issuing any adverse communication to assessees during the first quarter of 2020-21.

The direction has been made as the key highlight of performance monitoring of tax officers across the country, as part of an interim action plan for the ongoing financial year that the board issued internally. The board has instead put the focus on internal clearing and preparedness for the post-Covid period.

“Due to the unprecedented situation arising out of Covid-19 pandemic this year, relatively short Interim Action Plan for the first quarter of FY 2020-21 is issued,” the board has said in an internal order issued on May 8. A copy was seen by ET.

“It is to be highlighted here that no communication with the assesse having adverse effect on him/her is to be done during this period till fresh guidelines in this regard are issued by the board,” the order added.

The move is a shift from the typical cycle that the CBDT follows, where it lays down targets and due dates to field formations in the beginning of a financial year. For FY21, the board has set a target of `13.19 lakh crore from direct taxes—28% more than the actual collections for FY20—despite the nationwide lockdown that is likely to have dented corporate and personal income tax earnings.