Got an I-T notice on cash deposits? Don't panic and follow this guide

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in tandem with public sector and commercial banks, has undertaken data mining on a massive scale to identify how funds have been moved in the country after November 8. The government has come down hard on individuals and businesses operating doctored accounts, having deregistered and shut more than 100,000 companies and penalised more than 300,000 others. The I-T department has also identified over 37,000 shell or paper companies channelling black money through methods such as hawala. As a part of its Operation Clean Money, the I-T department identifies individuals whose income tax return filings are inconsistent with the amount of cash deposits made in their bank accounts during the demonetisation drive. It then sends a notification through SMS or e-mail, and the individual must provide a response on the department’s website for the same.

If you receive such a notice, do not panic or ignore it. First, verify that the PAN (Permanent Account Number) stated on the notice is yours. Since the I-T department issues notices to a specific PAN and not based on your name, there are chances that an erroneous notice may have been sent to you instead of someone else with the same name or birth date as yours. If you have received such a notice, irrespective of whether you have made the transactions or not, you must log into your account to submit a response. Here's how:

• Visit the income tax department website, https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in, and log into your e-filing account.

• Click on 'Cash Transactions, 2016' under the 'Compliance' tab. The page will then list all cash deposits made by you between November 9 and December 30, 2016. 

• Before you begin the verification process, make sure you have all pertaining documents such as receipts for cash income, past tax returns, etc. 

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Aaykar Setu: Now solve IT RETURN issues, pay taxes, apply for PAN, via CBDT app

Paying IT RETURN, applying for PAN and seeking redressal of grievances have become easier as the tax department today launched an app allowing taxpayers perform basic functions through their smartphone.

The mobile app will also help people link their 12- digit biometric identifier Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number (PAN) card as well as track the TDS deduction details.

The mobile app 'Aaykar Setu', launched by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, literally means bridge for taxpayers and will be available in Android phones.

"This is a very important step forward by the CBDT and the principle reason being technology as a very powerful tool becomes an enabler. (With the app) most of the work the assessee can discharge without any external help sitting at home," the minister said.

This is the first mobile app by the CBDT and can be downloaded by giving missed calls to 7306525252.

The app will have a live chat facility named 'Chatbot' from 10 am to 6 pm which will provide solution to queries of taxpayers relating to PAN, TAN, TDS, return filing, refund status and tax payments.

Besides, people can also have a live chat with tax experts and provides address of nearby tax return preparer.

It provides ease of use of all the services related to tax payment including tax payment, tax calculation. Also if a taxpayer has a problem, this app will help in lodging his grievance in the e-Nivaran module of the CBDT.

IT RETURN: Now, pay GST if you earn over Rs 20 lakh per year as rent

IT RETURN - Rental income from residential property has been exempt from GST but any earning over Rs 20 lakh annually from renting or leasing for commercial purposes would attract the levy.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said that if the house property is rent out for shop or office purpose, no Goods and Service Tax (GST) will be levied up to Rs 20 lakh.

"Rental income received from residential house is exempt. But if you have given your unit to commercial enterprise, then it is taxable if you are getting more than Rs 20 lakh as rent," Adhia said at the GST Master Class.

The taxpayer earning more than the exempted threshold will have to register with the GST Network and pay taxes.

GSTN Chief Executive Prakash Kumar said that as many as 69.32 lakh registered excise, service tax and VAT payers have migrated to the GSTN portal. There are over 80 lakh such assessees in the earlier indirect taxation regime.

Out of the 69.32 lakh, as many as 38.51 lakh have completed the entire registration process and registration certicate is being issued to them.

The remaining 30.8 lakh taxpayers are being sent SMS and emails by GSTN so that they complete the registration process by giving the details of the business like main place of business, additional place of business, promoters details.

Besides, over 4.5 lakh new assessees have registered on the GSTN portal since June 25.

Adhia further said that the facility to amend the details of businesses provided to the GSTN portal at the time of registration will open on July 17. Also, registration for GST practioners will open on the same day.

Besides, cancellation of registration can be done online.

GST readiness: EY launches helpdesk to ease transition for small firms

Tax consultancy firm EY has launched a GST helpdesk for small businesses wherein they can post their queries on the new indirect tax regime online.

EY GST Helpdesk is driven by a pool of indirect tax professionals powered by over 800 GST practitioners across 14 cities.

The facility would be available for free to small businesses, traders and entrepreneurs to achieve a seamless transition to GST and queries can be posted on EY India Tax Insights App, DigiGST website and EY_India on Twitter.

"This facility will help in enabling a smooth transition for smaller businesses and traders across the country," EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani said.

Businesses are in the midst of ensuring GST compliance and they have to align their software systems as per the GST requirement as well as adapt themselves to the new return filing and invoice generating format.

"We believe this helpdesk will be of great help to small entrepreneurs and help them realise the benefits of GST," EY India National Tax Leader Sudhir Kapadia said.

Goods and Services Tax (GST), rolled out from July 1, unifies 17 different taxes like excise, service tax and VAT and will transform India into a single market for seamless transfer of goods and services.

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I-T to attach shares if Cairn Energy fails to pay Rs 10,395 cr tax

The tax department has slapped a fresh notice on UK's Cairn Energy Plc seeking to take over the firm's residual 9.8 per cent stake in its erstwhile Indian subsidiary to recover Rs 10,395 crore retrospective tax demand.

The tax department had in an unprecedented move had last month appropriated Rs 1,500 crore of tax refund due to Cairn Energy and another Rs 666 crore of dividend income due to it for three years from its erstwhile subsidiary (now Vedanta) to recover the Rs 10,247 crore of tax plus interest.

It has again written to Cairn Energy on June 26 asking it to repay the balance tax due, failing which it will take over its 9.8 per cent shareholding in Cairn India, a source said requesting not to be named as the information is not yet public.

In the notice, the Income Tax Department gave the British firm 15 days to repay or face attachment of shares.

The department moved to recover the tax after Cairn Energy lost an appeal against the retrospective tax demand in tax tribunal ITAT. It on March 31 issued a notice seeking Rs 10,247 crore tax by June 15. As the company failed to pay, it went ahead to take over the refund and dividend income.

The source said about Rs 2,200 crore recovered so far does not even fully cover the interest due on principal tax demand of Rs 10,247 crore which was levied over alleged capital gains the company had made in 2006 when it transfered India assets to a newly created firm, Cairn India and listed in on stock exchanges.

The outstanding tax demand is Rs 10,395 crore, he said, adding an interest at the rate of 1 per cent will keep adding up every month on the tax demand.

"Cairn Energy has time till July 11 to reply to the notice sent by tax recovery officer under Income Tax Certificate Proceedings rules. If the company does not reply, then the department is likely to issue warrant which will be followed by a formal share attachment notice," the source said.

Auditors' to disclose property related transactions above Rs 20,000 to I-T

Auditors will now have to disclose details of transactions exceeding Rs 20,000 in connection with immovable property in reports, which they file with the Income Tax (I-T) authorities on behalf of their clients.

Under the Income Tax Act, professionals earning gross receipts of more than Rs 50 lakh and companies with a turnover of Rs one crore and above are required to get their accounts audited. The turnover limit for companies has been increased to Rs two crore from Assessment year 2018-19.

So far, auditors in their report had to mention details of loans, and repayment exceeding Rs 20,000 in the tax audit report filed along with Income Tax returns. Henceforth, all transactions exceeding Rs 20,000 relating to immovable property will have to be mentioned in a specified format in the report.

The move will increase transparency in financial dealings and help check tax evasion.

As per the notification by the I-T department, auditors will have to furnish details of transactions regarding "each specified sum" exceeding Rs 20,000 from financial year 2016- 17. These would include money paid or received with regard to immovable property.

The auditor report will also have to specify details of the mode of payments whether account payee or bearer cheque, or through electronic system.

Through the notification, the tax department has revised the form 3CD for tax audit report under section 44AB of Income Tax Act.

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Nearly 15% growth in direct tax collections for FY18: CBDT

IT RETURN- Provisional figures for direct tax collections up to June 2017 show net collection at Rs 1.42 lakh crore, which was 14.8 percent higher than net collection for the corresponding period of last year.

A Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) statement released on Thursday said the net direct tax collection represented 14.5 percent of total budget estimates of direct taxes for fiscal 2017-18 (Rs. 9.8 lakh crore).

Corporate Income Tax (CIT) gross collections grew at 4.8 percent, while the growth under Personal Income Tax (PIT), including Securities Transaction Tax (STT) was 12.9 percent.

However, after adjusting for refunds, the net growth in CIT collections was 22.4 percent, while that of PIT was of 8.5 percent.

The CBDT informed that refunds amounting to Rs.55,520 crore have been issued between April and June, 2017, which is 5.2 percent lower than refunds issued during fiscal 2016-17 in the same period.

An amount of Rs. 58,783 crore was received as advance tax up to June 30, 2017, reflecting a growth of 11.9 percent over advance tax payments for the corresponding period of last year.

The growth in Corporate Advance Tax was 8.1 percent and that in Personal Advance Tax was 40.3 percent.

Demonetisation effect: Direct tax mop-up grows 15% to Rs 1.42 lakh cr in Q1

Advance tax paid by individuals recorded 40 per cent growth in the first quarter (April-June) of the current financial year.

This could be an impact of the demonetisation of high-value currencies, with more non-corporate entities recording higher incomes. 

Overall direct tax collection after refunds expanded by 14.8 per cent to Rs 1.42 lakh crore over the corresponding period in 2016. 

“The government has benefited from demonetisation, as people have started reporting higher income,” Sushil Chandra, chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, told Business Standard. 

Overall advance taxes, both personal and corporate, grew by 11.9 per cent to Rs 58,783 crore. Advance tax is paid within a specified period after the money is earned, rather than waiting for the end of the financial year.

Electronic filing of income tax returns up to June for 2016-17 grew by 18 per cent, suggesting that more people regularised their unaccounted income. “People are aware now that the income tax department is carrying out lots of searches and surveys and that black money will not be tolerated any more,” said Chandra. 

Corporate advance tax collections were up 8.1 per cent. Corporate tax collection, net of refunds, grew by 22 per cent; gross collections grew 4.8 per cent. Refunds, worth Rs 55,520 crore, were 5.2 per cent lower than last year. 

“Last year, we cleared a lot of pending refunds for the year-ago period, whereas there are no pending refunds of the past fiscal (year) this time,” said an official. 

Income Tax dept launches new e-facility to link your Aadhaar with PAN

The Income Tax department has launched a new e-facility to link a person's Aadhaar with the Permanent Account Number (PAN), a mandatory procedure for filing I-T returns now.

The department's e-filing website — https://incometaxindiaefiling.Gov.In/ — has created a new link on its homepage making it "easy" to link the two unique identities of an individual.

The link requires a person to punch in his PAN number, Aadhaar number and the "exact name as given in the Aadhaar card".

"After verification from the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), the linking will be confirmed. In case of any minor mismatch in Aadhaar name provided, Aadhaar OTP (one time password) will be required," the department said in its advisory to taxpayers and individuals.

The OTP will be sent on the registered mobile number and email of the individual.

It urged them to ensure that the date of birth and gender in PAN and Aadhaar are exactly the same, to ensure linking without failure.

"There is no need to login or be registered on e-filing website (of the I-T department). This facility can be used by anyone to link their Aadhaar with PAN," it said.

The government, under the Finance Act 2017, has made it mandatory for taxpayers to quote Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns (ITR).

Also, Aadhaar has been made mandatory for applying for permanent account number with effect from July 1, 2017.

The department, till now, has linked over 1.18 Aadhaar with its PAN database.

While Aadhaar is issued by the UIDAI to a resident of India, PAN is a ten-digit alphanumeric number issued in the form of a laminated card by the I-T department to any person, firm or entity.
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It's a shame Indians don't want to pay taxes: SC talks tough on Aadhaar

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked why there was no objection from lawmakers on the government’s decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for making permanent account number (PAN) cards, a move which was given effect by the latest budget from July 1.

“542 persons are sitting in Parliament, why do they not object to it? If they are not objecting, why should we go into it,” a Bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said.

When it was told that the Centre has earlier made a statement in the apex court that it would not make Aadhaar mandatory, the Bench said, “They cannot be bound by it. It cannot preclude Parliament from enacting a statutory provision.”

The court was hearing three petitions challenging the constitutional validity of section 139AA of the Income Tax (IT) Act. Section 139AA, introduced through the latest Budget and the Finance Act, 2017, provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of I-T returns and making application for allotment of PAN with effect from July 1, 2017.

The Bench also observed that tax evasion existed in India and it was a “shame” that citizens do not want to pay taxes.

The court said there was no doubt that Aadhaar should be voluntary and observed since tax evasion existed, the government could bring in new statute to stop such “leakage”.

Defending the Centre’s stand to make Aadhaar mandatory for filing of income tax returns and to apply for PAN, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi referred to around 10 lakh fake PAN cards and said Aadhaar was the only system which could prevent duplication or fake cards.

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SC raps Modi govt for making Aadhaar mandatory for filing I-T returns

The Supreme Court of Friday asked Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi to justify making Aadhaar mandatory for filing Income Tax returns as it is a complete violation of the court's previous order. "Is making Aadhaar by force the only way to tackle fraud?" a furious Supreme Court asked the central government.

The apex court debated the legality of a centralized biometric-based database of India’s 1.2 billion citizens. To this, Mukul Rohatgi responded that the central government's only option was to make Aadhaar mandatory to end the black money menace.

"We found a number of pan cards being used to divert funds to shell companies, to prevent it the only option is to make Aadhaar card mandatory," said Rohatgi.

The Supreme Court had on March 27 made it clear that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory by the government for extending benefits of social welfare schemes.

The top court, however, said that the government cannot be barred from seeking these cards, which are issued by UIDAI, for "non-benefit" purposes like filing of IT returns and opening of accounts.

"The answer is this that for giving benefits of welfare schemes, it (Aadhaar) cannot be pressed. They (government and its agencies) cannot be stopped from seeking Aadhaar for non-benefit schemes like opening of bank accounts," a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar had said.

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Linking PAN to Aadhaar is now compulsory. Here's how to do it

If you have not linked your Aadhaar with your PAN on the income tax portal yet, you should not delay it. As per latest circular from income tax (I-T) department, it is now mandatory to provide Aadhaar and permanent account number (PAN) details while filing tax returns.

The rule which will be applicable from July 1, 2017 is aimed at tax evaders who hold multiple PAN cards to escape paying tax. Therefore, after linking both the Aadhaar and PAN, the government hopes to keep tabs on the taxable transactions of a particular individual or entity, whose identity and address will be verified by his Aadhaar card

By linking the two, entities will no longer have to submit their Income Tax acknowledgement to the I-T department, thus saving tax payers a lot of trouble.

When linking, make sure that name, date of birth and gender displayed on the income tax website matches with the detail on your Aadhaar Card. Here’s how to do it:

• The first step towards linking Aadhaar with PAN is to register on Income tax e-filing portal.
• If you are an already registered user on e-filing portal, login to e-filing portal of Income tax department by entering your PAN as User ID, date of birth and password.
• On logging in to the site, a pop up window will appear prompting you to link your PAN card with Aadhaar card.
• You can input your Aadhaar number enter ‘captcha’ code and click on ‘link now’.
• In case you have decided to link Aadhaar with PAN later click on ‘later’ button.
• On logging, if no pop up window appear, go to profile Setting and click on ‘link Aadhaar’.
• Enter your Aadhaar number enter captcha code and click on ‘link Aadhaar’.
• The system will match your name, date of birth and gender with PAN card and Aadhaar database, if detail matches, you will get the message “Aadhaar – PAN linking is completed successfully.” READ MORE

ITR form simplified for salaried individuals; e-filing to start from April

A crisp income tax form for salaried individuals will be introduced from April 1, doing away with some columns to simplify the filing of returns.

Individuals with salary and interest income will have to fill fewer columns as some of these for claiming income deductions have been clubbed in ITR1 form called 'Sahaj'.

In the form for Assessment Year 2017-18, deductions claimed under different sections of Chapter VIA have been removed and only mostly used ones have been included.

"Columns that will remain include those for claiming deductions under Section 80C, mediclaim (80D). Those individuals who want to show deductions under other heads can do so by selecting an option," an official told PTI.

Currently, the ITR 1/Sahaj has 18 different columns for claiming deductions under Section 80 of the Income Tax Act.

Under section 80C, a deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh can be claimed from total income for investments in LIC, PPF and repayment of housing loan.

Section 80D provides for tax deduction from the total taxable income for the payment of medical insurance premium. This deduction is over and above the deduction under Section 80C. (READ MORE)

Tax breaks, infra push top markets' Budget 2017 expectations

Budget 2017 india - As the Narendra Modi-led government prepares to present the Budget on February 01 after the big bang demonetisation move in November, the markets have clawed back from their recent December lows with the S&P BSE Sensex rallying nearly six per cent to over 27,200 levels.

The rally in the mid-and small-cap indices has been sharper with the S&P BSE Mid-cap and the S&P BSE Small-cap indices surging around 11 per cent each during this period.

So what does this Budget hold in store, and what are the markets expecting from the Finance Minister this time around?

The markets, analysts say, are primed with the expectation that the Budget will be focussed primarily on reinforcing the 'black money crackdown' theme with a secondary focus on delivering token payments to the poor as well as income tax cuts. The government now will have the opportunity to signal its unbridled economic priorities within the broader ambit of prudent fiscal consolidation.

"We expect the Government to announce an 'anti-rich' budget which focusses on installing penalties on cash transactions, tax on the withdrawal of cash from the banking system, income tax relief for the middle class and potentially an adverse capital gains tax-related decision for equity investments," says Saurabh Mukherjea, chief executive officer, Ambit Capital.

"Additionally, we expect a moderate increase in revenue expenditure allocation whilst capex is deprioritised. As regards the fiscal deficit, the government is likely to postpone the fiscal goalpost of hitting three per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) in FY18," he adds.(Read More)