The Government has introduced few changes in Income Tax return forms and return filing procedures. It invites more financial information from assessees including their multiple bank account details, Aadhar Card number and Passport Number in the Income Tax Return. The Changes introduced are:
Income Tax Return form for Assessment Year 2015-16 (Financial Year 2014-15) requires Tax Payers to report the number of Bank Accounts they are operating along with related details such as name of Bank, Account number, & IFSC code. Irrespective of a Payer operates a Savings or a Current Account, reporting the details is mandatory. But it is not necessary to report dormant account details.
E-filing of Income tax return has been made mandatory for those who are claiming Income Tax Refund. This will help for quick processing. It is also proposed that from now onwards all the refunds will be done electronically and cheques will not be issued.
Passport number number is optional information, which is an initiative by the government to monitor foreign traveling expenses and source of income for funding traveling expenses.
A new system of verification called as Electronic verification has been introduced. The Tax Payer will receive a verification code (similar to One Time Password (OTP)) on Payer's Mobile number which is associated with Payer's Aadhar card. The Aadhar Card number is also required to be mentioned in the Income Tax Return. Once the Payer enters the verification code, the e-filing will be verified. Therefore posting ITR-V to CPC, Bangalore is not required if the Tax Payer opted to file his tax return either through Electronic Verification System or with Digital Signature. In all other cases i.e. Aadhar Card Holders or who don't file through Electronic Verification system are still required to follow the old mechanism of sending ITR-V to CPC, Bangalore. Aadhar Card No is mandatory for electronic verification process.
Form ITR-2A is introduced for the Individuals and HUF tax payers who do not require filing ITR-1. Last Year, the Tax Payers whose exempted income above Rs. 5000, Capital Gains, Lottery Winning, Horse Racing, or income from any assets located outside India were supposed to file 14 paged ITR-2. ITR-2 form is a complicated form with lot of information related to Capital Gains, Set-off losses, or Foreign Assets.
ITR 2A can be filed by Individuals or HUF whose
sources of income is from the following:
-Income from Salary
-Income from House Property (any number of Properties)
-Income from Other Sources including Lottery winnings or Horse racing
-Clubbed income of a Minor child or Spouse
But, at the same time, ITR 2A form cannot be used if the individual has the
following:
-Income from Capital Gains
-Income from Business or Profession
-Any claim of relief/deduction under the Sections 90, 90A or 91
-Any Resident having an Asset (including financial interest in any entity)
located outside India or signing authority in any account located outside India
-Any Resident having income from any Source outside India
From the past two years, the Tax Payers were using ITR 2 or ITR 4 if the exempt income was more than Rs. 5000. This year, it brought a great sigh of relief. From now onwards, any Tax Payer enjoying any amount of exempt income such as PPF Interest , House Rent Allowance etc. can file ITR-1or ITR 4S. However, Payers who are enjoying the Agricultural income above Rs.5000 are still required to file ITR 2 / ITR 4.
Income Tax Department has updated its Technology significantly by introducing a lot of validations while efiling the Income Tax Returns. e.g. for Tax benefits under the Section 80G. Similarly, if the name of the Tax Payer in Income Tax Return does not match with the name as per PAN database, the Income Tax Return will be declined. Likewise, many more logical validations have been implemented. From now onwards, the Tax Payers will receive an alert before submitting, if the form contains any significant errors.
This article is written by Mr. Kuttan. He has vast experience in taxation and is a Lawyer of Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court.
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