Intending to provide speedy redressal to the non-residents earning income from India and to the Indian residents transacting with non-residents, Section 144C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act) provides an ‘eligible assessee’ with an option to file its objections to the Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) against the draft assessment order passed by the Assessing Officer (AO). This option is available to an assessee as against preferring an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax. Amongst the two, a reference to the DRP is more desirable to an assessee because of the following primary reasons: