E-Filing of IT Return mandatory for Individuals having Total Income of more than Rs.5 Lakhs
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is Spreading e-tax net through Notification dated 34/2013 dated 01.05.213 (CBDT notification is provide at the end of this mail for your easy reference) E-filing of I-T returns is now mandatory for individuals, including salaried taxpayers, earning more than Rs 5 lakh taxable income during the financial year ended March 31, 2013. Earlier the same was mandatory for the Individuals having salaried Income more than 10 Lakhs.
CBDT's earlier notification that salaried Individual having Income less than 5 Lakhs need not to file Income tax returns continues to be in force. Therefore salaried Individual earning less than Rs 5 lakh and whose saving bank interest income is less than Rs 10,000 in a year will need not to file Income Tax returns. However, if an employee has switched jobs during the financial year, then this leeway of tax filing exemption is not available. Since there is a condition to get the exemption that the employer has discharged the entire tax liability through deduction of tax at source and deposited it with the government there is very chance that either of the employers will not discharge entire tax liability due to lower tax calculations at their end.
After the above said new notification comes into force income tax return filing is mandatory for three types of individuals having salaried income:
i) Individuals having salaried income over 5 lacs
ii) Individuals having salaried income over 5 lacs switch over their job during the financial year.
iii) Individuals having salaried income less than 5 lacs switch over their job during the financial year.
iv) Employees having income less than over 5 lacs but having other incomes and/or having interest income over 10000.
For the first two categories of employees e-return filing is mandatory. For the other category of individuals e filing is mandatory if their total income exceeds Rs. 5 lacs. Simultaneously e-filing of I-T returns also helps speed up the process of granting refunds to taxpayers – the processing is carried out at the CPC-Bangalore.
After making the income tax return mandatory for the individuals having total income over 10 lacs, IT department needs to extend the time limit for return filing of individuals from 31st July to 31st August (for 1 Month) due to non availability of access of website of the tax department which enables e-filing of returns. As per IT department there is about 18 lacs of individuals who file return between 5 lakhs to 10 lakhs which gather more traffic in the e-return filing website in this AY. It's a good step by the IT department to gear up the Income tax return processing but a question that how the department's website handles such huge traffic especially during the peak return filing season.
Through the same notification, the CBDT has also introduced e-filing of tax audit reports, transfer pricing (TP) reports and Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) certificates. Earlier, while e-filing of I-T returns was mandatory for India Inc, these reports had to be physically filed at the local tax offices
Best Regards
Prakash Nair
INCOME-TAX (THIRD AMENDMENT) RULES, 2013 – AMENDMENT IN RULE 12 SUBSTITUTION OF FORMS SAHAJ (ITR-1), ITR-2, ITR-3, SUGAM (ITR-4S), ITR-4 AND ITR-V
NOTIFICATION NO. 34/2013 [F.NO.142/5/2013-TPL]/SO 1111(E), DATED 1-5-2013
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 295 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Board of Direct Taxes hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Income-tax Rules, 1962, namely:—
1. (1) These rules may be called the Income-tax (3rd Amendment) Rules, 2013.
(2) They shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from the 1st day of April, 2013.
2. In the Income-tax Rules, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as the said rules), in rule 12,—
(a) in sub-rule (1),-
(A) for the figures "2012″, the figures "2013″ shall be substituted;
(B) in item (a),—
(i) in sub-item (iii), after the words "income from race horses", the words "and does not have any loss under the head" shall be inserted;
(ii) for the proviso, the following proviso shall be substituted, namely:—
"Provided that the provisions of this clause shall not apply to a person who,-
(I) is a resident, other than not ordinarily resident in India within the meaning of sub-section (6) of section 6 and has,—
(i) assets (including financial interest in any entity) located outside India; or
(ii) signing authority in any account located outside India;
(II) has claimed any relief of tax under sections 90 or 90A or deduction of tax under section 91; or
(III) has income not chargeable to tax, exceeding five thousand rupees.";
(C) in clause (ca), for the proviso, the following proviso shall be substituted, namely:—
"Provided that the provisions of this clause shall not apply to a person who,-
(I) is a resident, other than not ordinarily resident in India within the meaning of sub-section (6) of section 6 and has,—
(i) assets (including financial interest in any entity) located outside India; or
(ii) signing authority in any account located outside India;
(II) has claimed any relief of tax under sections 90 or 90A or deduction of tax under section 91; or
(III) has income not chargeable to tax, exceeding five thousand rupees.";
(b) in sub-rule(2), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-
"Provided that where an assessee is required to furnish a report of audit under sections 44AB, 92E or 115JB of the Act, he shall furnish the same electronically.";
(c) in sub-rule (3), in the proviso,-
(A) in clause (a),—
(i) for the words "an individual or a hindu undivided family", the words "a person, other than a company and a person required to furnish the return in Form ITR-7″ shall be substituted;
(ii) for the words "ten lakh rupees" the words "five lakh rupees" shall be substituted;
(iii) for the figures "2012-13″, the figures "2013-14″ shall be substituted;
(B) after clause (aaa), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-
"(aab) a person claiming any relief of tax under section 90 or 90A or deduction of tax under section 91 of the Act, shall furnish the return for assessment year 2013-14 and subsequent assessment years in the manner specified in clause (ii) or clause (iii);"
(C) in clause (b), after the words, brackets and figure "in clause (i)", the words, brackets and figures "or clause (ii) or clause (iii)" shall be inserted.
(d) in sub-rule 4, after the words, brackets and figures "of sub-rule (3)", the words and figures "and the report of audit in the manner specified in proviso to sub-rule (2)" shall be inserted.
(e) in sub-rule (5), for the figures "2011″, the figures "2012″ shall be substituted.
3. In the said rules, in Appendix-II, for "Forms SAHAJ (ITR-1), ITR-2, ITR-3, SUGAM (ITR-4S), ITR-4 and ITR-V, the "Forms SAHAJ (ITR-1), ITR-2, ITR-3, SUGAM (ITR-4S), ITR-4 and ITR-V" shall be substituted.
