Govt notifies new and simplified ITR forms
24 Jun 2015 10:20 PM GMT
With the Finance Ministry publishing the gazette order, taxpayers and other entities can now file their Income Tax Returns (ITR) till August 31, the new deadline set in this regard by the government after it dropped the earlier forms which had attracted criticism for seeking numerous additional details like that of filers’ foreign travel and about dormant bank accounts.
The most simplified form, ITR-2A, to be filled by those individuals and HUFs who do not have income from either business, profession or by way of capital gains and do not hold foreign assets, only asks for the passport number of the tax-filer, with the words “if available”. Filers now will have to declare only about the “total number of savings and current bank accounts” held by them “at any time during the previous year (excluding dormant accounts).” The form also has space to fill up the IFSC code of the bank and in an additional feature, tax filers have been given an option to indicate their bank accounts in which they would want their refund credited.
The I-T department, in the new ITRs, has also sought the Aadhaar number of <g data-gr-id="21">filers</g> and has also given options for providing two email ids to it. “The inclusion of Aadhaar and emails are to ensure a regime of online ITR filing in the country,” a senior official said.
The department has also provided for an additional four-page schedule to this simplified form for those who wish to file <g data-gr-id="19">anymore</g> details, applicable in a case-to-case basis.
In the ITR-2, for individuals and HUFs having income from business or profession, the form remains simple but they will have to declare if they hold any foreign assets abroad or have income from “any source outside India.” The new ITRs have replaced the 14-page form that was notified earlier this year.
All I-T refunds will be put directly in bank accounts: CBDT
The Income Tax department has put in motion a new plan which will ensure that any refund on tax paid is safely deposited in their personal bank account as soon as it is processed and released. The department is also planning to fully adopt and use banking services to end the current system of sending I-T refunds over the value of Rs 50,000 via cheques through the postal department. Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairperson Anita Kapur, said the plan is being worked out on priority and is aimed at bringing an end to taxpayers’ grievances regarding this particular service. She said that CBDT got in touch with RBI, finding that the problem of wrong refunds or no refunds at all was continuing unabated.
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