The income tax department is feeling the pressure to grant more time to people for filing income tax returns due to the changes introduced in the format of tax returns and tax deducted at source (TDS) certificate, Form 16. The employer issues this certificate and file the TDS returns with the IT department.
The last date for filing income tax returns is 31 July 2019 for the financial year 2018-19 (AY 2019-20). The IT department generally extends the due date for a few days if the public has concerns regarding the deadline and grants a longer extension for employees in states if there are any natural calamities.
This year, the employers and the taxpayers have to pay special attention to the changes in the tax returns and TDS return forms.
LocalCircles, a community social media platform, conducted a survey and included more than 10,000 citizens to find out if filing tax returns is causing any discomfort to them. 39% of more than 7,800 people answered a question on Form 16 and said that they hadn’t received the form from their employer yet.
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This study was distributed across 146 locations in India, and 49% of the respondents answered a question on how they felt about filing before the due date. 28% said that it was impossible and the rest said that they are struggling to file.
Sachin Taparia, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of LocalCircles, said, “We have sent a letter to the Finance Ministry requesting for an extension by at least a week, if not a month since most employees did not receive their Form 16 on time. We are hoping for the best.”
Experts have said that the modifications made to the format of TDS certificates were notified in April and required employers to give a full break up of salary and tax-exempt payments to the employee.
Form 24Q (TDS Return for salary) has also been modified, and the employers need to provide full details of the gross salary as per the value of perquisites and profits instead of salary.
In addition, tax-exempt allowances bifurcation and the deductions claimed have to be given as well. This step was taken to avoid uncertainty in filing returns and make valuation easier by capturing every detail with the help of technology.
The Union Budget 2019 has made PAN and Aadhaar interchangeable while filing returns. This means Aadhaar number can be quoted while tax filing in case a taxpayer does not have a PAN. Aadhaar can also be quoted wherever PAN is mandatory.
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