Govt Plans Stern Actions For Non-Filing Of Returns, Including Steep Penalties
If you have not filed income tax (I-T) return till now, you better rush and complete the formalities by July 31. The tax department may impose a penalty of up to Rs 5,000 under section 271F on you for not filing I-T returns.
And, if you have unpaid tax of more than Rs 3,000 but less than Rs 1 lakh, you can be sentenced for a jail term of three months along with the penalty. If the unpaid tax amount is more than Rs 1 lakh, the jail term can increase to a minimum of six months to a maximum of seven years, over and above the penalty, according to Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) spokesperson Shishir Jha. This time CBDT will clamp down on I-T defaulters, said a senior CBDT official.
However, return filing can be extended to till April 2009, the last date of assessment year for 2007-08, if there is a genuine ground, Jha said.
Jha added that the department can find out from its data that a person is not filing I-T returns despite having taxable income from various sources like companies, banks, mutual funds, credit cards, land and other fixed assets. As per government provision, all the entities need to deduct taxes while making payments like salary and interest and deposit the amount with the exchequer.
Not only this, if a person invests more than Rs 2 lakh in mutual fund units, the company shares the information with government along with the client's PAN. The department also collects data from registrar offices of persons involved in large transactions. After collecting these data, the department processes it to catch the defaulters.
In case a person does not file returns but submits documents like Form 16A and other TDS certificates after getting a notice, he can be still asked to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000. But, in most such cases, the department normally asks him to file the return at the first instance. But, Jha said if the default is repeated, then the penalty is imposed. If a person ignores the notice, Jha said the penalty will be increased to Rs 10,000 for each notice.
Filing of return has some other advantages also. Income tax law allows carry forward and set off business losses against the income in the subsequent years. But, these benefits will not be available if the tax return is not filed by the due date.
At the same time, if more taxes than the due amount is deducted from your income, you will get the refund only after filing the returns. If you file the return by July 31, you will also get the interest on the refund amount for the period between April 1, 2008 and the date of refund. But, if you filed the return after the July 31, 2008, you will not get the interest.
With thanks from The Times of India 29 July 2008 P. 25 Delhi
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