An outreach programme cum interactive session was organized by the Income Tax Department, J&K in collaboration with District Administration, Anantnag at the Dak Bunglow, Khanabal.
The event was chaired by Sh. Rahul Padha (Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, Srinagar) alongwith other officers of the department namely Sh. M.L Dogra (Income Tax Officer, Udhampur), Sh. Karamvir (Income Tax Officer, TDS Jammu & Srinagar) & Sh. Ankit Dhaka (Tax Recovery Officer, Srinagar). More than 250 DDOs, Account Officers & Govt. employees of various departments attended the interactive session.
M. L Dogra kicked off the proceedings by welcoming the attendees and by briefing the audience about the importance of filing ITRs and paying their taxes honestly. He also apprised the audience about the territorial jurisdiction of Income tax department of their region. Later, Sh. Karamvir, ITO TDS took the stage and sensitized the DDOs & Account Officers about their roles and duties with regard to compliances of TDS provisions.
They were also advised to file their quarterly TDS returns timely to avoid late filing fees and penalty. Sh. Ankit Dhaka urged the DDOs present to issue Form-16 to their respective employees after due diligence and after carrying out proper verification of documents submitted by them in support of eligible deductions as per I.T Act. He further highlighted that the department has noticed that a large number of employees claim deduction under section 10(13A) which relates to “House Rent Allowance” being paid by their employer to help them meet living cost in rented accommodation, by furnishing bogus rent receipts despite living in accommodation owned by them.
To keep a check on such bogus deductions, the DDOs must ask their employees for proper documentary evidences such as rent receipts, rent agreements, PAN of landlord in case payment of rent exceeds Rs. 1 lakh/ year, Aadhar card to verify the address shown in rent receipts, bank statement to check actual payment or rent etc.
Only after proper verifications, the benefit of HRA may be given to employees as per eligible limits as mentioned in the section. Similarly, for other sections such as 80C (contribution in LIC/PF/ tuition fees etc.), 80CCD, 80D (Health Insurance), 80DD(Treatment of disability), 80DDB (Medical treatment), 80E (Education loan), 80EE/80EEA (Loan for house property), 80EEB (Deduction for purchase of Electric vehicle), 80G (Donations to Trusts, Charitable Institutions etc.),80GGC (Donation to political parties) and 80U (Deduction in case of disability), benefit may be given only to eligible employees after verifying relevant documentary evidences.
As a deterrence, departmental proceedings may be initiated against those who resort to furnishing bogus and forged documents in support of their deductions claims. Furthermore, DDOs were also asked to sensitize their employees to file their ITRs correctly and to refrain from making bogus claims of deductions in their ITRs because doing so will lead them in trouble as the Income Tax Department is vigilantly monitoring such individuals who are in practice of making fraudulent deduction claims while filing their ITRs. He further urged the DDOs to sensitize their employees that those who in past knowingly or unknowingly fell in the trap of claiming ineligible deductions in their ITRs filed for F.Y. 2022-23 relevant to A.Y. 2023-24 may escape the clutches of the department by revising their ITRs before 31st December, 2023. Similarly, for those claimed bogus refunds in earlier years may also amend their mistake by filing Updated ITRs (ITR-U) for F.Y. 2020-21 & 2021-22 by 31st March, 2024 by paying additional tax of 50% & 25% respectively in addition to their tax liability. After discussing all the relevant topics, the queries of the audience with regard to various issues being faced by them while complying to the Income Tax provisions were taken up for discussion and were satisfactorily resolved.
Rahul Padha urged the audience to file their ITRs correctly and timely to avoid any harsh communication from the department alongwith encouraging others including their family members, relatives, neighbours to pay their taxes honestly and play an important role in nation’s0 progress.
He further emphasized that to address the grievances of tax payers the government has a robust grievance redressal mechanism and mitigating their hardship is their utmost priority. They can register their grievances online on CPGRAM portal and the department will ensure that these are swiftly resolved.
Furthermore, in case of assistance related to any tax matter, the taxpayers may also approach their nearest Income Tax office for resolution of their queries. As a concluding remark, Sh. Rahul Padha on behalf of Income Tax Department conveyed thanks to all the participants for enthusiastic response shown by them by attending the programme in large numbers. He also expressed his gratitude to the District Administration led by DC Mr. Sayeed Fakarudin Abid for their support and for all the necessary arrangements to make the event a grand success.
