<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/51695621.cms" /> 
 
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the Indian authority responsible for administration of the direct tax laws, has recently released instructions to fill up the new forms of Income Tax Returns. However, experts are of the opinion that filling up the new schedule for declaration of assets and liabilities is not going to be easy. 
 
Individuals and HUFs earning more than Rs 50 lakh in a year will be required to disclose their moveable and immovable assets and liabilities in a new AL section for AL. 
 
The declaration would have to be done at cost, which means that they have to be declared at the price at which they were acquired by the taxpayer. This is what experts feel will be a huge challenge because of the dynamic nature of assets because of appreciation or depreciation in their values. Not only this, since the assets value keeps on changing, the declarations would not be able to paint a fair picture of the net worth of a person. 
 
"A luxury car may have been acquired at a certain price but depreciates as soon as it turns around the corner. It would be unfair to book it at cost price. Similarly, jewellery bought, say, 10 years ago would have multiplied many fold. Showing it at cost price will defeat the purpose of declaring the net worth," Archit Gupta, founder of ClearTax.in, told ET. 
 
Another problem for the tax payers would be to ascertain the buying cost of assets that have been passed down from more than a generation ago. 
 
<a href="http://www.charteredclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/income-tax-return-1.jpg">Image source</a>

Filing new ITR forms is not a cakewalk, here’s why

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/58094708.cms" /> 
 
All cash payments of over Rs 2 lakh for paying loans and credit card bills during the 50-day period post demonetisation will have to be disclosed in the new one-page Income Tax return form, according to a PTI news report. 
 
The tax department a few days back notified new Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for filing of returns for the Assessment Year 2017-18 (financial year 2016-17). 
 
Besides providing for declaring income, exemption claimed and tax paid, the forms have a new column providing for declaration for any deposit of over Rs 2 lakh in bank accounts made during November 9 and December 30, 2016 after the old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes were demonetised. 
 
This column is also to be used for declaring cash payments in excess of Rs 2 lakh for repayment of any loan or settlement of credit card bills during this 50-day period, a senior official told PTI here. 
 
"The column is an attempt to match the cash deposits made post demonetisation with the annual income," he said. 
 
While all credit cards are linked to permanent account number (PAN) of the holder, almost all loans by scheduled banks are also provided on furnishing of PAN. 
 
The tax department will collate the data it has of cash payments made in excess of Rs 2 lakh with the returns filed. "We want to see if the income profile matches with the cash payments made," he said. 
 
The move comes amid concerns of unaccounted cash or black money being used to settle bills after credit cards were used to make heavy purchases. It could also be that black money could have been used to repay loans. 
 
Post-demonetisation, the government had provided a 50-day window beginning November 9, 2016 to deposit the junked notes in bank accounts. For those with unaccounted cash, it gave them one last opportunity to come clean by depositing 50 per cent of it as tax and parking another 25 per cent in a zero- interest bearing deposit for four years. 
 
The changes made in ITR are an attempt to catch tax evaders, the official said. 
 
Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia had last week told PTI that the new column of cash deposits made during November 9, 2016 and December 30, 2016 was a one-time feature in the ITR and would not be there in the ITR from next year onwards. 
 
The ITR, he had said, would evolve or change every year depending on the need. 
 
While coming out with new ITRs, the CBDT had also rationalised them and cut down the number of forms to seven from earlier nine. 
 
While all taxpayers will have to now mandatorily link Aadhaar with their PAN cards, ITR1 (Sahaj) form has been shortened from 7 page to 1 page to enable filing of returns by people with income up to Rs 50 lakh by July 31. 
 
ITR2 is to be filed by individuals and HUFs who do not have income from business or profession and ITR3 is filed by individuals and HUFs having income from a proprietary business or profession. 
 
Also ITR 2 and ITR 3 also have a Schedule AL which require assessees to declare their assets and liabilities at the end of the fiscal. 
 
ITR4 (Sugam) is filed by those individuals who have opted for income calculation under presumptive income from business and profession.

Loans,
card payments above Rs 2 Lakh in cash to be shown in ITR

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/49092342.cms" /> The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=CBDT">Central Board Of Direct Taxation (CBDT) </a>is now planning to provide pre-filled forms for the purpose of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Income+Tax+Returns">Income Tax Returns (ITRs)</a>. With this ‘pre-filled’ feature, the user’s data on income and other vitals will automatically reflect on the website. 
 
 
The apex policy-making body of the Income Tax department is aggressively working on the project and is planning to launch it in the next financial year. 
 The customer-friendly measure has come in the backdrops of the new e-filing system – introduced in August – which allows online <keyword id="6374875" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ITR">ITR</keyword> verification; all that you need is a valid Aadhaar number, internet banking, ATM among others. 
 
Taxpayers who have an income of less than Rs 5 lakh and without claims of refund can now generate an electronic verification code on the e-filing website of the tax department, which is later sent to their registered email to e-verify the return. 
 Anita Kapur, <keyword id="128665" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="CBDT">CBDT</keyword> Chairperson said, "We are looking at a possibility of making more entries for a pre-filled form so that it becomes more easier for the taxpayer to file an e-return. We want to ensure that when technology moves, we can always bring in better facilities to make the life (of taxpayers) even easier." 
 
Kapur also said that these technology upgrades are proposed to be initially started for small taxpayers who file the one-page ITR (ITR 1) and the thinking in the department is that when the data of income as per previous records is automatically uploaded, then the taxpayer can file their ITRs quickly and wherever there are any amendments or changes, those can be corrected by the taxpayer himself. 
 
She also ensured that taxpayers will be able to change and correct their figures in the new system. 
Image: thinkstock

Soon your Income Tax form will come pre-filled

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/51648491.cms" />In a new move, individuals who earn over Rs 50 lakh per year will have to declare the break-up of the net worth. 
 
As per the new guidelines by the I-T Department, individuals will have to disclose all assets and liabilities as on end of financial year 2015-16. 
 There are two categories in this-moveable and immovable. Under immovable, you will have to declare any land or building, whereas in movable assets, cash in hand (money in your <keyword id="25450" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="savings">savings</keyword> account), vehicles (including yacht, boats and aircraft), jewellery, bullion and other valuable metals will have to be declared. 
 
"While further instructions on how to value assets are awaited, taxpayers will find it challenging to value their assets themselves, especially jewellery and vehicles. Salaried individuals do not usually maintain fair market value of jewellery owned or written down allowance (depreciation) of vehicles owned by them," Archit Gupta, CEO and founder, ClearTax.in, told ET. 
 In the budget 2016, Finance Minister <keyword id="42575" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arun-Jaitley">Arun Jaitley</keyword> brought professionals earning up to Rs 50 lakh a year under <keyword id="3286477" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="presumptive-tax">presumptive tax</keyword>. Earlier, under this process of tax-filing, apart from profit declaration no other details were required. The new forms will change this in case you have multiple businesses.

Individuals earning more than Rs 50 lakh will have to declare net worth now

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/47586038.cms" /> Doing away with the controversial provision for mandatory disclosure of foreign trips and <keyword id="2889081" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="dormant-bank-accounts">dormant bank accounts</keyword>, the <keyword id="156153" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Finance">Ministry of Finance</keyword> has recently came out with new three-page <keyword id="6354751" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Income-Tax">income tax</keyword> return (ITR) forms to impart better taxpaying experiences to those who fall under the I-T brackets, including all expatriate employees working in India. 
 
Let’s take a close look at how the new I-T forms-- ITR 2 and ITR 2A-- will bring in relief for the taxpayers by simplifying the process of the tax return filings. 
 The <keyword id="2889080" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-ITR-forms">new ITR forms</keyword> consist of just three pages, and if a taxpayer has to mention about some 'other information' that will be captured in the "schedules." 
 
Besides, a new ITR 2A form has been proposed for individuals or Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) who do not have capital gains, income from business/profession or foreign asset/foreign income, but have income from more than one house property. As per a statement issued by the <keyword id="47209" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Ministry">Finance Ministry</keyword>, “Individuals having exempt income without any ceiling (other than agricultural income exceeding Rs 5,000) can now file Form ITR 1 (Sahaj). However, earlier, an individual with exempt income of more than Rs 5,000 had to fill ITR-2. 
 
The new ITR forms have also looked in to the controversial provision of disclosing details of foreign visits. As per the statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, "In lieu of foreign travel details, it is now proposed that only Passport Number, if available, would be required to be given in Forms ITR-2 and ITR-2A. Details of foreign trips or expenditure thereon are not required to be furnished." 
 
The new three-page income tax return forms have also eliminated the disclosure of details of dormant accounts which are not operational during the last three years. According the official statement issued by the ministry, "As regards bank account details in all these forms, only the IFS code, account number of all the current/savings account which are held at any time during the previous year will be required to be filled-up. The balance in accounts will not be required to be furnished." 
 
The new ITR forms come as a breather for expatriates employees. “A foreign national who is in India on a business, employment or student visa (expatriate), will not mandatorily be required to report the foreign assets acquired by him/her during the previous years in which they were a non-resident and if no income is derived from such assets during the relevant previous year,” the statement issued by the home ministry added. 
 
It appears that latest changes which the ministry has introduced in the new ITR forms will improve the taxpaying experiences of individuals, making their lives easy.

The new ITR forms are easy as taking a walk in the garden

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/55980962.cms" /> The <keyword id="121964" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Central-Board-of-Direct-Taxes">Central Board of Direct Taxes</keyword> (CBDT), while warning those who are trying to misuse the provision of revising <keyword id="188697" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="I-T-returns">I-T returns</keyword>, said those "drastically" altering the forms to revise income will face scrutiny and <keyword id="1185403" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="penal-action">penal action</keyword>. 
 It said that after the cash ban, few <keyword id="59866" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="taxpayers">taxpayers</keyword> may misuse this provision to revise the return filed by them for the earlier assessment year for manipulating income with an intention to show the current year's undisclosed earnings in the earlier filing. 
 
"The provision to file a revised return... has been stipulated for revising any omission or wrong statement made in the original return of income and not for resorting to make changes in the income initially declared so as to drastically alter the form, substance and quantum of the earlier disclosed income," CBDT said in a statement. 
 
CBDT, the policy making body of the income tax department, also said that if it notices any manipulation in income in previous year's ITR (income tax return), it will conduct scrutiny. 
 "Any instance coming to the notice of the <keyword id="60848" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="I-T-department">I-T department</keyword> which reflects manipulation in the amount of income, cash-in-hand, profits etc and fudging of accounts may necessitate scrutiny of such cases so as to ascertain the correct income of the year and may also attract penalty and prosecution in appropriate cases as per provision of law," it said. 
 
Under the Section 139(5) of the I-T Act, a revised ITR can only be filed if any person who has filed a return discovers any omission or any wrong statement therein.

Action will be taken if there are drastic changes in I-T returns, says tax body

The <keyword id="20449324" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Bill" source="keywords">Finance Bill</keyword> 2024 was passed by <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Lok Sabha" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Lok Sabha">Lok Sabha</keyword> on Wednesday evening, with a few amendments moved by the government. Replying to the debate, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman said the approach of the government has been to bring greater simplification of <keyword id="19987671" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tax" source="keywords">tax</keyword> laws and procedures and enable growth and employment in the country. She responded to points made by members. The Finance Minister clarified that in real estate, the roll over provisions have not been withdrawn and are applicable. She said if the capital gain in a property transaction is invested in buying another one or two properties up to a maximum value of Rs 10 crore, no capital gain tax is required to be paid on such profits. <keyword id="20619608" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="capital-gains" source="keywords">Capital gains</keyword> can also still be invested in bonds which are notified under Section 54 of the Income Tax Act up to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh annually and save on taxes. To give relief on budget proposals, Sitharaman also moved an amendment in the Finance Bill on the changes in the capital gains tax on <keyword id="20412285" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="property-transactions" source="keywords">property transactions</keyword>. The amendment implies that taxpayers can avail either a lower tax of 12.5% without indexation or a rate of 20% with indexation, if the property is acquired prior to July 23, 2024, the day union budget was presented in the Lok Sabha. Sitharaman clarified that taxpayers can compute taxes under both provisions and choose to pay tax under the scheme where lower tax is applied. Effectively, July 23, 2024, is now set as the cut-off date for the calculation of the capital gains versus the earlier cut-off of 2001. Sitharaman said she has proposed these amendments as some members have raised hypothetical calculation to prove that under new provisions taxpayers will have to pay higher taxes. The new tax proposals on capital gains tax was brought in to bring in parity among different asset classes like equities, mutual funds and real estate. In the Finance Bill introduced on July 23, the Finance Minister had proposed a flat long term capital gains tax of 12.5% with no <keyword id="943856" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="indexation-benefit" source="Orion">indexation benefit</keyword>s, prior to it property transactions used to be taxed at 20% with indexation benefit. The minister also clarified that the grandfathering proposal will be allowed only for individual and Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) taxpayers and not for companies and Non Resident Individuals. They have to pay flat 12.5% LTCG tax without indexation. The proposed amendment will apply not only on real estate transactions, but also on unlisted equity transactions, which are done before July 23, 2024. All such transactions will be taxed at 10% long term capital gains instead of FY24-25 budget provision of 12.5% tax. With the opposition members demanding removal of <keyword id="19951327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST" source="keywords">GST</keyword> on health insurance, Sitharaman said tax was there on medical insurance even before GST was introduced. "There was already a Service Tax on medical insurance, before the GST was introduced. This is not a new tax, it was already there in all the states. Those protesting here, did they discuss regarding the removal of this tax in their states? Did they write to the Finance Ministers of their respective states about it and asked them to raise it in the GST Council where states have 2/3rd part? No, but they are protesting here. This is their double standards, this is their drama," she said. "Wrongful protests have happened recently, and comments have been passed on the basis of a news report which suggested that the 'Centre has pocketed Rs. 24,529 crores of health insurance premiums alone'. This is incorrect and highly misleading. The GST rate of 18% on health insurance comprises of 9% CGST and 9% SGST. Thus, of the total collections of Rs 24,529 crores from health insurance in the last 3 years, Half of it, Rs. 12,264 crores, went straight to the states as SGST. It doesn't even come to the Centre," she added. The minister said that apart from this, roughly 41%of the Centre's share of GST collection on health insurance is devolved back to the states again, as part of Tax Devolution as per the Finance Commission's formula. Sitharaman said the new income tax regime is simpler and offers lower income tax rates for individuals. "It gives flexibility to the taxpayer to see where he wants to put his money in the absence of exemptions which is available in the old income tax regime. The old regime has not been dissolved and is still an alternative to the new tax regime. It still offers benefits of various deductions such as interest on home loan, etc. Individuals without business income can choose between regimes once and can revert back too. Hence, a choice has been provided to assesse," she said. For the previous Assessment Year 2023-24 till December 31, 2023, about 3.8% of taxpayers opted for the new tax regime, which equates to 30.93 lakh individuals, from a total of 7.98 crore ITRs filed in the categories of ITR-1 to ITR-4, she said. "However, for the Assessment Year 2024-25 until July 31, 2024, there was a dramatic increase in adoption of the new regime, with approximately 72.8% of taxpayers choosing the new tax regime. This represents about 5.25 crore individuals, out of a total of 7.22 crore ITRs filed in the same category." Sitharaman said this shows a substantial shift in taxpayer preference towards the new tax regime, over the span of just one year. "Taxpayers opting for the new regime does not mean savings and investments are not happening in the economy by the middle-class. Due to growth in fintech, better awareness, and ease of investment due to UPI, e-KYC, progressive regulations, investments in mutual funds have increased tremendously. On an average, 17.88 lakh new folios have been added every month in the last 5 years since June 2019. The number of unique mutual fund investors has grown from under 1 crore in 2014 to about 4 crore today," she added. The Finance (No.2) Bill, 2024 was passed after amendments moved by opposition were negatived. Sitharaman said the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been to establish a simple, efficient and fair technology-driven taxation regime in the country. "So, simplification and ease of compliance for the taxpayer has been the primary objective. In the last 10 years, and this year, in the third term of PM Modi, the approach to taxation has been to simplify it, reduce the burden on taxpayer and make sure it is transparent and equitable," she said. "This year also, our approach has been that we bring in greater simplification of tax laws and procedures, and that we enable growth and employment in this country," she added. Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in Parliament on July 23. This is the first full budget of the NDA government led by PM Modi. The BJP-led alliance won a third successive term earlier this year. The Lok Sabha took up discussion on the Finance Bill after the Appropriation Bill for the central government's expenditure for 2024-25 was passed by the House on Monday. The Finance Bill will now be discussed by Rajya Sabha. The passage of bill will complete the budget process.

Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill, provision on LTCG tax on property transactions amended

With Indians rushing to file their ITRs ahead of the July 31st deadline that's coming up tomorrow, did you know that residents of just one Indian state are exempt from filing <keyword id="19901478" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="income-tax" source="keywords">income tax</keyword> returns, or paying taxes at all? Yes, <keyword id="19903425" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sikkim" source="keywords">Sikkim</keyword> is the only state in the country where the residents do not have to pay income tax. But why is that the case? Let's delve into it. An erstwhile princely kingdom for almost 333 years prior to its amalgamation, Sikkim merged into independent India in 1975, thereby becoming the country's 22nd state. But this happened on one condition- that it will be allowed to continue with its old <keyword id="21152786" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tax-laws" source="keywords">tax laws</keyword> post the merger. Sikkim has its own income tax manual, which stipulated that no resident of Sikkim was to pay taxes to the center. Hence, honoring the merger agreement, the Indian government granted a special tax exemption to Sikkimese residents from Indian income tax regulations. This changed in 2008, when the <keyword id="19908389" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget" source="keywords">Union budget</keyword> repealed the state's tax laws. However, to maintain the exemption status enjoyed by the state's residents, it inserted section 10 (26AAA). Under this section, any income generated by a Sikkimese, be it from a source within the state, or by way of dividend or interest on securities, would be tax-exempt. At present, any individual who has been domiciled (noted as having fixed, principal and permanent residence) in Sikkim as of April 26, 1975 would be considered a Sikkimese, and hence, exempt from paying income tax. As per data from PRS Legislative Research, the state's estimated own tax revenue for 2023-24 stood at Rs 1,727 crore. However, if a Sikkimese has rental income from properties situated outside of the state, or has an income from source that is not located in Sikkim, it will be subject to relevant taxes. Nevertheless, the provisions of tax exemptions would not apply to any Sikkimese woman, who marries a non-Sikkimese or an outsider, on or after April 1, 2008. Market regulator SEBI has also exempted residents of Sikkim from mandatorily having a PAN card for investing in Indian stock markets, equities, cash market and even mutual funds. <h2>Decoding Section 10 (26) of the IT Act</h2>All these income-tax exemptions also extend to a few other regions in the country, but only if you are a member of the scheduled tribes. Section 10(26) of the Income Tax Act applies to Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and <keyword id="19919396" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tripura" source="keywords">Tripura</keyword>, along with the North Cashar hills district, Karbi Anglang district, Chakma district, Mara district, and Lai District. Simply put, it stipulates that if you belong to the scheduled tribes and generate any income, the source of which lies in the above mentioned regions, or by way of dividend or interest on securities, your income would be tax-exempt. But any income generated outside of these regions would be taxable.

Did you know about the only Indian state exempt from paying any income tax? Know all about it here

<ul><li>As per the <keyword id="20244944" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="periodic-labour-force-survey" source="keywords">Periodic Labour Force Survey</keyword> (PLFS), a regular, casual, and self-employed worker makes around ₹1.6 lakh per annum.</li><li>As per ITR data, those from higher income brackets saw their earnings go up, and vice versa.</li><li>In the last two years, only those employed in sectors like banks, the IT sector and others that gained from post-Covid inflation saw salaries go up. </li></ul>India’s gross domestic product (GDP) has been growing at a much faster clip than expected — most government agencies and financial institutions peg it at over 7%. Yet, the households tell another story. Most of them saw their real income growth — after accounting for inflation — fall by 3.1% in the last five years. This has also got to do with the unemployment status in the country, especially with the under-represented rural economy. “We observe that unemployment fell by 10 basis points YoY to 3.4% in 2022-23 (PLFS) driven by the increased self-employed, especially in agriculture, and rising dependence in the rural areas. This characterized a surge in disguised unemployment and falling real wages,” says a report on the Indian Economy by Systematix. Real wage of most self-employed @ ₹13,300/month Fewer real jobs means less real income, and self-employment yields much less into the hands. As per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), a regular, casual, and self-employed worker makes around ₹1.6 lakh per annum. That’s around ₹13,300 per month. Add that with rising inflation, little is left in the hands of people. Moreover, this is how ‘most’ of India’s adult population earns. “On the income side, the PLFS also does not capture the full picture as the estimated average annual income of ₹1.6 lakhs (2022-23E, PLFS) represents 90% of the adult population. The annual earnings of the regular worker (18% of total workers as per PLFS) averaging ₹2.4 lakhs also barely touch the third income class,” says Systematix. Even this has been declining in the last few years. “This represents a decline of 2.8% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in real terms over the past five years and flat over four years,” says the Systematix report. Small incomes fall, big incomes rise Data from Income Tax Returns filing presents an interesting picture. There has been a robust 20% annual growth in the IT collection over the past four years. Yet, the average income of the ITR filers grew modestly at 3.5% CAGR. An important point to note to be added here is that ITR filers represent only 8.9% of India’s adult population. Added to that, the number of income taxpayers increased by 2.3% CAGR —showing that ‘few’ are upgrading into taxable brackets. All in all, it shows that more tax payments might just mean rising inequality. Even within the taxable bracket, the higher earners saw better appreciation. The aggregate salary of income tax filers grew by 13.7% CAGR during FY13-20. After <keyword id="19896627" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid" source="keywords">Covid</keyword>, between FY20-24, it decelerated to 7.6%. At the same time, growth in income tax collection accelerated from 9.4% in pre-Covid compared to 20% post-Covid. That’s because between FY20-22, the salaries of those earning between ₹9.5 lakh to ₹50 lakh per annum – grew by 12% CAGR. This bracket represents 40% of ITR filers — indicating the salary distribution mix has also changed. When it comes to those earning below ₹9.5 lakh per annum, there has been a 2% fall in income between FY20-FY22. Tech and bank salaries surge, others not much Bankers and tech employees have seen a few good years in terms of compensation. Most others, not much! Compensations across sectors have also been skewed due to post-Covid inflation. Only those sectors and especially larger companies which could gain from a surge in global commodity prices, gains from global supply shortages and their workers benefited during the period. “Compared to the pre-Covid averages (FY13-FY19), there has been a widespread deceleration in salaries and wages for most manufacturing and services sectors, except for consumer goods, food products, and transport equipment. Contrastingly, financial services, including banks and IT services saw a significant surge in compensation growth,” says Systamatix. The great lockdown has sent back many to their ‘homes’, permanent jobs have become scarce and gigs have gone up. Progressively, incomes at the lower end are amongst the first to fall and slow to rise. Adding in the sectoral and state-wise distribution of ‘GDP growth’ has presented a diverse income picture across the sub-continent. But RBI data says that household savings contracted by 19% in FY23 — showing that Indian homes are yet to recover from the harsh after-affects of the pandemic stress.

Incomes are either rising too slowly or falling at the lower end of the bracket

New Delhi, Jan 9 () Rolling back its week old order, the Income Tax Department on Thursday allowed joint owners of single house property to file income tax return using simple Form-1 (Sahaj) or Form-4 (Sugam).
On January 3, it had debarred individual taxpayers owning house property in joint ownership and those who paid Rs 1 lakh in electricity bills in a year or incurred Rs 2 lakh expense on foreign travel from filing their annual income return using the simple return forms.
"After the notification, concerns have been raised that the changes are likely to cause hardship in the case of individual taxpayers," the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.
The department said the issue was examined and "it has been decided to allow a person, who jointly owns a single house property, to file his/her return of income in ITR-1 or ITR-4 Form, as may be applicable, if he/she meets the other conditions".
"It has also been decided to allow a person, who is required to file return due to fulfilment of one or more conditions specified in the seventh proviso to section 139 (1) of the Act, to file his/her return in ITR-1 Form," it added. ANZ BAL
BAL

Tax Dept rolls back order; allows joint property owners to file returns using simple forms

In a bid to prevent suppression of information by <keyword id="59866" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="taxpayers">taxpayers</keyword>, the <keyword id="6354751" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="income-tax">income tax</keyword> department will provide full details of their financial transactions such as sale and purchase of stocks, real estate transactions, payment details of credit card bills in the form of statement in the new Form 26AS. The taxpayers tax passbook or the form 26AS contains details of taxpayer and compliance details along w<keyword id="6354185" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="IT">it</keyword>h other financial transactions. From this year, it's format has been changed to include specified financial transactions of taxpayers that will be presented on the form of Statement of Financial Transactions (SFTs). These will include buying and selling of shares, real estate etc, making cash payments for purchase of bank drafts, pre-paid instruments by the Reserve Bank of India (such as mobile wallets), cash deposits in a financial year, payment of credit card bills (both cash or and other modes). Taxpayers' other details such as Aadhaar number, date of birth, mobile number, email ID and address will also be present in the new form. A finance ministry statement said that the new Form 26AS is the faceless hand-holding of the taxpayers to e-file their income tax returns quickly and correctly. "...the information being received by the Income Tax Department from the filers of these specified SFTs is now being shown in Part E of Form 26AS to facilitate voluntary compliance, tax accountability and ease of e-filing of returns so that the same can be used by the taxpayer to file her or his income tax return (ITR) by calculating the correct tax liability in a feel-good environment. This would also bring in further transparency and accountability in the tax administration," the statement read. The earlier Form 26AS used to give information regarding tax deducted at source and tax collected at source relating to a PAN, besides certain additional information including details of other taxes paid, refunds and TDS defaults. But now, it will have SFTs to help the taxpayers recall all their major financial transactions so that they have a ready reckoner to enable them while filing the ITR. The income tax department used to receive information like cash deposit/withdrawal from saving bank accounts, sale/purchase of immovable property, time deposits, credit card payments, purchase of shares, debentures, foreign currency, mutual funds, buy back of shares, cash payment for goods and services, etc under Section 285BA of Income-tax Act, 1961 from "specified persons" like banks, mutual funds, institutions issuing bonds and registrars or sub-registrars etc, with regard to individuals having high-value financial transactions since the Financial Year 2016 onwards. Now, all such information under different SFTs will be shown in the new Form 26AS. The new Form 26AS would also have information of transactions which used to be received up to Financial Year 2015-16 in the Annual Information Returns (AIR). However, financial transactions will be shown in 26AS only if taxpayers cross the specified limit in a financial year. For instance, if the aggregate credit card bill paid via electronic modes (not including the cash payment) exceeds Rs 10 lakh, then payment of credit card bill will be reflected in Form 26AS. Similarly, if the mutual fund investments in a financial year exceeds Rs 10 lakh, only then such transactions will be reflected in the Form 26AS.

Taxpayers will now get full details of transactions in Form 26AS

New Delhi, Mar 2 () The Election Commission of India (ECI) is not in favour of state funding of elections as it will not be able to prohibit or check candidates own expenditure over and above provided for by states, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.In a written reply, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said the ECI's view is that for addressing the real issues, there have to be radical changes in the provisions regarding receipts of funds by political parties and the manner in which such funds are spent by them so as to provide for complete transparency in the matter."The Election Commission has informed the Government that it is not in favour of State Funding as it will not be able to prohibit or check candidates own expenditure or expenditure by others over and above that which is provided for by the state," the minister said.Thakur further said that in order to discourage cash transactions and bring in transparency in the sources of funding of political parties, the government has amended the Income Tax Act and limited anonymous cash donations to Rs 2,000.The government introduced the 'Electoral Bond Scheme 2018' to establish a transparent political funding system in the country with well established audit trail.In another reply, he said the number of assessees filing Income Tax Returns (ITRs) has consistently increased during each of the last three years as well as in the current year.As per the data provided by him, the total number of e-returns (excluding revised returns) were 5.18 crore in assessment year 2016-17 and 6.35 crore during Assessment Year (up to Feb 15, 2020).The belated returns of AY 2019-20 can be submitted up to March 31, 2020, therefore, this number will increase further, the minister said.Thakur said the Income Tax Department has implemented the Non-Filers Monitoring System (NMS) which assimilates and analyses in-house information as well as transactional data received from third parties to identify such persons/entities who have undertaken high value financial transactions but have not filed their returns.The number of non-filers with potential tax liabilities identified in the last three assessment years were 33 lakh, 38.81 lakh and 15.58 lakh. NKD CSBAL

EC not in favour of state funding of elections

<ul><li>There has been a growing clamour for respite both financial as well as regulatory (like taxation and other compliances).</li><li>Over 500 people have been infected by the virus while nine of them have died as of March 23.</li><li>Follow the comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact, and other useful resources that can help you in the fight on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=coronavirus&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Business Insider India</a>.</li></ul>Indian Finance Minister Sitharaman had announced a series of measures to deal with the economic crash as India, along with the rest of the world, battles the Coronavirus pandemic. Over 500 people have been infected by the virus while nine of them have died as of March 23. As many as 22 Indian states and 80 districts are under lockdown and that has brought an already weak economy to its knees. There has been a growing clamour for respite both financial as well as regulatory (like taxation and other compliances).These are some of the big announcements made by Sitharaman on March 24: <ol><li>Tax returns for financial year 2018-19 can be filed by June 30.</li><li>No extension of penalty on delayed deposit of TDS (tax deducted at source). However, the penalty has been halved to 9% from 18% currently.</li><li>The deadline for linking Aadhaar with PAN (Permanent Account Number) has been extended to 30 June 2020.</li><li>All investments for rollover benefit of capital gains under Income Tax act, Wealth Tax act, Prohibition of Benami Property Transfer Act, Black Money Act, Securities Transaction Tax law, equalisation levy law, 'vivaad se vishwaas' law — the amnesty scheme for tax disputes where the time limit was expiring on March 20 — now increased to 30 June.</li><li>The last date of filing returns for the months of March, April, and May 2020, including composition scheme, extended to June 30.</li><li>For companies with turnover less than Rs 5 crore, no late fees, penalties, and interest on deferred payment. </li><li>For companies with turnover over Rs 5 crore, there will be no late fees, penalties but there will be an interest of 9%, down from 18% currently.</li><li>Customs clearance will operate 24x7. It will be doing its duty as an essential service.</li><li>MCA-21 Registry: Moratorium issued from April 1 to September 30. No additional fees for late filing. The mandatory requirements for holding meetings of Board of Directors relaxed by 60 days. </li><li>Applicability of auditors' report order was supposed to be in force from financial year ending March 2020, that has now been delayed by a year.</li><li>For the year financial year 2020, independent directors will not be held for violation if they haven't held even one meeting.</li><li>For newly incorporated companies, there is a requirement to file declarations for commencement of business within 6 months. Now, we’re giving them an additional time of 6 more months.</li><li>There is a need to create a reserve for 20% of all the deposits maturing next financial year by April, that has been deferred to June.</li><li>Similarly, there was a need to invest 15% of the amount from maturing debentures during the next financial year (April to March 2021) by April. That has been deferred to June.</li><li>Threshold for default under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has been raised by 100 times to ₹1 crore. This is effective immediately to stop the triggering of insolvency proceedings against micro, small, and medium enterprises. If the situation doesn't improve by April 30, the government may consider suspending Section 7, 9, and 10 of the bankruptcy law for a period of six months. </li><li>All sanitary import permits (shrimp, broodstock, and any aquaculture) set to expire by April 1 and April 15 2020, are being extended by three months. Even if your import is coming a month later, that will not be seen as a delay.</li><li>Re-booking for quarantine cubicles, for those cancelled consignments in aquatic quarantine facilities, will not entail additional booking charge.</li><li>The grant of no objection certificate and verification of documents for quarantine will be relaxed from 7 days to 3 days. </li><li>Debit card holders can withdraw cash from any bank ATMs for the next three months.</li><li>No fee will be charged for not having minimum balance in the savings account.</li><li>Bank charges will be reduced for digital transactions for trade and finance consumers.</li><li>The principle to be followed by Commerce Department: For procedural and eligibility point of view, extension of timeline will be given but there won't be an extension of scheme guidelines for modification. </li><li>We, both government and the regulator SEBI, are monitoring the stock market thrice a day. Various sub-groups of the task force on economy, as well outsiders, have made suggestions and we will soon come with an announcement.</li><li>Under Section 149(3) of the new Companies Act, every company is required to have at least one director who has stayed in India for a total period of not less than 182 days in the previous calendar year. A violation will be condoned in the wake of the current coronavirus crisis.</li><li>Department of Financial Services will decide if there are to be any changes on equal monthly installments for borrowers. </li></ol>The clamour for radical measures ahead of these announcements from the Finance Minister Earlier, the CEO of government think tank NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant also batted for direct benefit transfer to those who lost their livelihoods due to the lockdown aimed at containing the virus. The state’s first responsibility should be towards people who are at the margin and are going to lose their jobs, and should be able to provide them with a source of livelihood. And that should be in the form of a direct benefit transfer,” he said in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGWsdvJBcgo&amp;feature=youtu.be">virtual interview</a> with the Observer Research Foundation. Here's a thread of some important demands for financial relief before the lockdown came into full force. 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="iyer_sriram" handlename="Sriram Iyer" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1205780479690997763/9fDDa6o6_normal.jpg" favoritecount="6" retweetcount="2" status="It is great to see @FollowCII echoing the same sentiment as @BiIndia a few days ago We discussed this at length in… https://t.co/lUDXiQR1e3" createdat="1584771674000" id="1241248483350175745"></div>




















 The former governor of RBI Raghuram Rajan said that it is hard to assess the economic impact of the pandemic. However, he said that the government needs to put medical supplies etc on priority as it heads to contain the virus. "We need to spend money on medical supplies, ventilators, masks — on getting protective equipment for medical workers. That means getting every resource in. pvt, public, defence, retired — every resource. And quickly. All this will require fiscal resources and this is the higher priority," Rajan said in a TV interview. While <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/while-pm-modi-called-for-a-janata-curfew-the-kerala-government-implemented-some-serious-steps/articleshow/74717250.cms">Kerala</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coranavirus-cases-in-tamil-nadu-news-and-updates/articleshow/74785909.cms">Tamil Nadu</a> announced measures like free ration and a handout, no national level programme to support daily labourers and other small businesses has been announced. <ul></ul>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coranavirus-cases-in-delhi-news-and-updates/articleshow/74773842.cms">The third stage of coronavirus spread in India can be delayed but not stopped, says ICMR</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/live-sensex-and-nifty-news-updates/articleshow/74786064.cms">Sensex sinks to 26,193 after opening in the green, Nifty follows down to 7,000 mark</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=coronavirus&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Follow the comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact, and other useful resources that can help you in the fight on Business Insider India.</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/aadhar-pan-linking-itr-filing-deadline-extended-to-30th-june/articleshow/74790726.cms">Aadhar-PAN linking, ITR filing deadline extended to 30th June</a> <ul></ul>

You Searched For "ITR changes" and got 13 results

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Tax Dept rolls back order; allows joint property owners to file returns using simple forms

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Taxpayers will now get full details of transactions in Form 26AS

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EC not in favour of state funding of elections

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