Income Tax returns by coffee growers
As per Board’s circular No.10/2003 dated 24th December, 2003 an individual deriving income from growing and curing of coffee who is not covered by the first proviso to Section 139(1) of the I.T. Act, would not be required to file a return of his income if his income from growing and curing of coffee was Rs. 2 lakhs or less. The Finance Act, 2005 has subsequently raised the exemption limit for individual taxpayers from Rs.50,000 to Rs. 1 lakh from the Assessment year 2006-2007. The exemption limit in the case of an individual, being a woman resident in India and below the age of 65 years, has been increased to Rs.1,35,000/-. In the case of an individual, being a resident in India, who is of the age of 65 or more at any time during the previous year, the exemption limit has been raised to Rs. 1,85,000/-.
The Board has reconsidered the matter of filing of return by the individual coffee growers in order to provide further relief to them and it is clarified that:
++ An individual deriving income from growing and curing of coffee would not be required to file his return, if the aggregate of 25% of his income from growing and curing of coffee and income under all other sources liable to tax is equal to or less than the exemption limit (1st slab of the rates of Income-tax) prescribed for individual tax payers in the first Schedule of the Finance Act of the relevant year.
If you don’t understand this, Board has given several examples to drive home the point.
CBDT CIRCULAR No. 10/2006, Dated : October 16, 2006