Limited scrutiny - through e mail or personal appearence?

Satyanarayana (General) (37 Points)

16 August 2016  

I received a notice through email which goes like this ....
Notice under section 143(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961
Limited Scrutiny
Sir/ Madam/ M/s,
This is for your kind information that the return of income for Assessment Year 2015-16 filed vide
ack. no. NNNNNN  on 30/08/2015 has been selected for Scrutiny. Following issues have
been identified for examination:
i. Foreign Bank Account
2. In view of the above, we would like to give you an opportunity to produce, or cause to be
produced, any evidence which you feel is necessary in support of the said return of income on
17/08/2016 at 12:05 PM in the office of the undersigned.
3. Sending a communication to the undersigned in this regard shall also be treated as sufficient
compliance in case no evidence is sought to be produced as required in Para 2 above.
4. Specific questionnaire/ show-cause notice shall be sent giving you another opportunity in case any
adverse view is contemplated.
5. (#) The assessment proceeding in your case is proposed to be conducted through email based
communication. The email provided in the said return of income shall be used for communication for
this purpose. In case you wish to communicate through any other alternate email, the same may
kindly be informed. A brief note regarding benefits of this facility and procedure is enclosed overleaf.
In case you do not wish to participate in this taxpayer friendly initiative, you may convey your refusal
to the undersigned by the above mentioned date. In case, you wish to opt out from this scheme at
any subsequent stage due to any technical difficulties faced by you, the same can be done with prior
intimation to the undersigned.
(#) applicable only in case of taxpayers whose Income-tax jurisdiction falls in the cities of
Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata or Mumbai
Yours faithfully,


Now the question is,
1. is it enough to reply by email or is it necessary to personally attend ? I am not able to figure out that based on the wording in point 3 above. (Regarding evidence...)
2. I heard that even if the notice mentions it as limited scrutiny, AO can ask for all general documentation like ' computation of income', details of all incomes and supporting documentation etc. Is that normal?
Thank you