New Income Tax Return Form To Seek Details on Cash Deposits Made During Demonetisation

The taxman will seek data on deposits made by an assessee during the demonetisation period as part of the simplified Income Tax Return (ITRs) forms to be notified soon for assessment year 2017-18.

The income tax (IT) department is understood to have introduced a new column for obtaining details of all deposits made by an individual or entity during the demonetisation period between November 8 and December 30 last year, people privy to the matter said. The new column will also be introduced in the simplest form for individuals with salary income, called the ITR-1 or ‘Sahaj’, they added.

While the IT department has given a number of opportunities to taxpayers to explain any unaccounted deposits made during the note ban through schemes like Operation Clean Money and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY), the move to introduce the new column is to ascertain all deposits made by a person or entity irrespective of the threshold, the officials said.

They added that the new ITR forms will continue to have a column asking taxpayers to mention their Aadhaar number, which would now be mandatory and not optional as in previous years. The e-verification of ITRs using the Aadhaar will continue, they said.

The new ITR-1 or ‘Sahaj’, the officials said, has also been made simpler by bringing together the columns for all deductions and details about assets and liabilities. They said the nine different ITR forms are expected to be launched by April 1 keeping in mind the thrust of the department and its policymaking body, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), that timely filing of ITRs is important to enhance the “non-intrusive information-driven approach for improving tax compliance and effective utilisation of information in tax administration.

Source: bloombergquint