Tax dept to act on specific evasion data
New Delhi, May 25, 2023
Income tax authorities have been asked to compulsorily pick up cases, where there is specific information of tax evasion on returns, for complete scrutiny during the current financial year, as part of the guidelines issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) .
In addition, cases where there was an addition and have been taken up under section 148 - which empowers assessing officers to estimate someone's income based on available information - will also be taken up.
Further, cases where there was an addition to the income during an earlier assessment year on a recurring issue of law or due to some specific facts before tax officials, also need to be picked up for complete scrutiny.
The income tax department takes up specific types of cases for complete scrutiny, while relying on random scrutiny of a small percentage of returns that are filed every year. The guidelines for compulsory selection indicate that the authorities are keeping tabs on some specific group of taxpayers to ensure that they report their income accurately.
The guidelines for the current financial year have stated that cases where surveys or search and seizure have been undertaken or where notices have been issued under section 142(1) of the income tax law, seeking details, should be taken up.
But while seeking compulsory scrutiny of these returns, the department has also made it clear that specified parameters have to be followed and approval of high-ranking officials is required by the international taxation central circle of income tax.
CBDT has mandated that cases taken up for scrutiny through this route need not be transferred to the faceless assessment unit.
The government is hoping to use a large pile of data available with it to expand the tax base and has over the years expanded the areas where tax deduction at source (TDS) or collection at source (TCS) are now mandatory. This data along with information coming from GST and other agencies is being used to build a database. The information is then tallied with the tax returns to assess if the income is adequately reflected or not.
The I-T department also Wednesday also extended the deadline for charitable and religious trusts to furnish applications for registration till September 30.
[The Times of India]
