Srinagar, Dec 9: The Income Tax Department said that those who have claimed any deduction in their ITR for FY 2022-23 (Assessment Year 2023-24) for which they have no supporting documents and have claimed refund of their TDS wholly or partly, may land up in trouble and pay heavy price for claiming such refunds by paying penalty of 200 percent.
It said that the department is keeping a strict vigil on taxpayers, especially the salaried class employees of various government departments, paramilitary forces, armed forces who have fraudulently claimed bogus deductions and exemptions in their ITRs for the past few years.
The IT Department said that it has information that based on complete data available with the department for FY 2019-20, 2020-21, 2022-23 regarding these bogus claim makers, Income Tax Department, J&K has issued notices under section 133(6) of the Income Tax Act to erring employees.
Now the department is prepared to issue to the almost 15,000 taxpayers all across J&K seeking relevant documentary evidence to verify the authenticity of deduction claims made by them. If found guilty of claiming non-genuine deductions, the taxpayer apart from paying due taxes calculated on misreported income will also be subject to a penalty of 200 percent on tax payable, it said.
Furthermore, the department is also empowered to launch prosecution against repeated tax offenders for which imprisonment could be for a period of 3 months and may extend up to 7 years. Non-compliance to the notices under section 133(6) is also not a resort as the same will attract a penalty of Rs. 10,000 under Section 272-A for each non-compliance.
The Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, J&K, and Ladakh has urged all salaried employees to check their Income Tax Returns for Assessment Years 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 filed by themselves or by any tax practitioner and other person. If there is any claim of deduction under Section 10(13A), 80 C, 80 CCD, 80 D, 80 DD, 80 DDB, 80 E, 80 EE, 80 EEA, 80 EEB, 80 G, 80 GGC and 80 U in their ITR, they should cross check if relevant documents and certificates are in their possession.
Once the notice under section 133(6) is issued the assessee has to furnish such evidence and documents within 8-10 days, failing which penalty for non compliance will be levied and the case will be selected for scrutiny later and in case any deduction is found as wrong, penalty of 200 percent of the tax evaded will be levied in such cases,” the statement said.
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