CBDT clarifies on New Return Forms for Assessment Year 2009-10
CBDT had vide notification S.O. No.866 (E) dated 27th, March, notified the following new forms for Assessment Year 2009-10:
(i) ITR-1 return of income for individuals having income from salary/ pension/ family pension and not having any other income except income by way of interest chargeable to income-tax under the head Income from other sources;
(ii) ITR-2 return of income for Individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) not having any income under the head Profits or gains of business or profession;
(iii) ITR-3 return of income for Individuals and HUFs being partners in firms and not carrying out business or profession under any proprietorship;
(iv) ITR-4 return of income for individual and HUFs having proprietory business or profession;
(v) ITR-5 combined form for return of income and fringe benefits for Firms/ Association of Persons / Body of Individuals;
(vi) ITR-6 combined form for return of income and fringe benefits for companies (other than companies claiming exemption under section 11;
(vii) ITR-7 combined form for return of income and fringe benefits for persons including companies required to furnish return under section 139(4A) or section 139(4B) or section 139(4C) or section 139(4D);
(viii) ITR-8 stand alone form for return of fringe benefits for persons who are not required to furnish return of income but are required to furnish return of fringe benefits.
In view of certain issues arising out of furnishing the returns in the above mentioned forms, CBDT clarifies that:
(i) An assessee should obtain the report of audit from an accountant under section 44AB of the Act on or before the due date of the furnishing of the return and should fill out the relevant columns of the return forms on the basis of such report. However, the report of audit should not be attached with the return or furnished separately any time before or after the due date.
(ii) These returns are not to be accompanied with any other document including any statutory form or report of audit (other than the report under section 92E), which is otherwise required to be furnished before the due date or along with the return for making any claim. The provisions of the law shall be deemed to have been complied with in respect of the requirement of the filing of the attachments or documents or reports along with the return.
(iii) The report as required under section 92E of the Income-tax Act should not be furnished along with the return. However, it should be separately furnished before the date specified in rule 10E.
Further, it is mandatory for a company and a firm liable to audit under section 44AB of the Act to furnish the return electronically. However, electronic filing is optional for other categories of tax-payers.
The e-Return has to be furnished at http://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in .
Further, it is advisable (though not mandatory) to use a digital signature for electronically furnishing the return. If the return is electronically furnished under a digital signature, the tax-payer is not required to furnish the Form ITR-V with the Income-tax Department as a follow up to the electronic transmitting of data in the return.
Similarly, any return which is digitally signed by the assessee and filed with an E-Return Intermediary (ERI), who, in turn, submits the return to the Income Tax Department under his digital signature, will also be deemed to have been filed under a digital signature of the assessee and no Form ITR-V is required to be submitted. In such cases, the date of electronic transmission of the data in the return shall be the date of furnishing the return.
However, if the assessee does not use a digital signature for electronically transmitting the data, he is required to follow-up the electronic transmission of the data by submitting the Form ITR-V with the Income-tax Department as verification of the electronic filing of the return. In such a case, the date of transmitting the data electronically will be the date of furnishing the return if the Form ITR-V is furnished within thirty days after the date of transmitting the data electronically.
In case, Form ITR-V, is furnished after the above mentioned period, it will be deemed that the return in respect of which the Form ITR-V has been filed was never furnished and it shall be incumbent on the assessee to electronically re-transmit the data and follow it up by submitting the new Form ITR-V within thirty days.
Since the Form ITR-V is bar-coded, assessee is advised not to fold the same and post it in A4 size envelope. The assessee shall furnish the Form ITR-V to the Income-tax Department by mailing it to “Income Tax Department – CPC, Post Box No - 1, Electronic City Post Office, Bangalore - 560100, Karnataka” within thirty days after the date of transmitting the data electronically.
The Post Box shall deliver all the Form ITR-V to the Centralized Processing Centre (CPC) of the Income-tax Department in Bangalore . Upon receipt of the Form ITR-V, the CPC shall send an e-mail acknowledging the receipt of Form ITR-V. The e-mail shall be sent in due course to the e-mail address furnished by the tax-payers in his return. No Form ITR-V shall be received in any other office of the Income-tax Department or in any other manner.
All returns filed electronically shall be processed, on priority basis, only at the Centralized Processing Centre of the Income-tax Department in Bangalore .
Since no documents are required to be furnished along with the return of income, the credit for Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), Tax Collected at Source (TCS), advance tax and self assessment tax (hereinafter collectively referred to as ‘pre-paid taxes') shall be allowed on the basis of information relating to pre-paid taxes furnished in the relevant schedules of the return forms subject to matching with the information provided by the deductor, collector and the banks.
Therefore, tax payers are advised to ensure that the information relating to pre-paid taxes is complete in all respect and correct. With a view to enabling the matching of information relating to pre-paid taxes furnished by the tax payers, the Income-tax Department has created a system of Unique Transaction Number (UTN) and Challan Identification Number (CIN). Assesses must ensure that the deductor and the collector have provided them with separate UTNs in respect of each TDS and TCS transaction.
The tax payers should ensure that the UTN for every TDS and TCS claim in the return is correctly filled in. Similarly, they must also ensure that they correctly fill in the CIN in respect of payments of advance tax and self-assessment tax. Further, no disallowance of claim for pre-paid taxes shall be made by the Assessing Officer only on the ground that the TDS/TCS certificates and challans have not been furnished along with the return of income or Form ITR-V.
The return of income in Form No. ITR-1 to Form No.ITR-8 for Assessment Year 2009-10 have been notified which require, amongst other, the quoting of the relevant UTN for every TDS or TCS claim made by the assessee. Therefore, the credit for any TDS or TCS claim will be allowed, amongst others, if the assessee quotes the relevant UTN for every TDS and TCS claim and the said UTN matches with the UTN in the database of the Income Tax Department.
With a view to enabling the processing of returns relating to financial year 2007-08 (Assessment Year 2008-09) and enabling the assessee to receive the UTN for TDS and TCS transactions in the Financial Year 2008-09 (relevant for Assessment Year 2009-10), the procedure as detailed in Circular No. , Dated May 21, 2009 for NSDL/deductor shall be followed.
In the past, instances have come to the notice of the Board that in spite of specific directions contained in the instructions for filling the return forms, the practice of accepting returns, along with annexures is still continuing. Tax-payers have in the past also complained that staff and officials in certain stations are refusing to accept returns which are not accompanied with annexures. These practices are against the expressed policy of the Government and are not in consonance with the legal provisions.
Therefore, it is emphasized that Chief Commissioners of Income Tax must ensure strict compliance with the provisions of law. It may be reiterated that all annexures accompanying the income tax return forms should be detached and returned to the tax payers by the receiving official.
All officers and staff of the Department should strictly comply with the contents of this Circular. Any violation thereof will be viewed seriously by the Board.
Now how many assessees and TDS deductors including DDOs in the Income Tax Department will know about these complicated procedures and when will DDOs in remote areas know about this?
And now somebody who makes a payment to me cuts TDS but does not make that payment into the government account in the way the CBDT wants it to be done, they propose to disallow credit to me because my deductor did not follow the procedure. I will pay my tax – why TDS and consequential litigation for me? WHY TDS at all? - At least till you are able to put your system in order?
CBDT CIRCULAR NO 3/2009., Dated: May 21, 2009