New Delhi: The government has made income tax return filing mandatory for high spenders even if their taxable income is below the threshold exemption limit of Rs 5 lakh.
Those mandated to file returns include people spending more than Rs 2 lakh on a foreign trip or depositing Rs 1 crore in a year in a bank account or paying electricity bill of more than Rs 1 lakh in a year.
"Currently, a person other than a company or a firm is required to furnish the return of income only if his total income exceeds the maximum amount not chargeable to tax, subject to certain exceptions. Therefore, a person entering into certain high-value transactions is not necessarily required to furnish his return of income," the Budget documents said.
It proposed to amend section 139 of the Income Tax Act to ensure that persons who enter into certain high-value transactions have to furnish their return of income. P13