Starting next week, from April 15, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has directed its field officers to reach out to these individuals having TDS but failed to file their Income Tax Return.
The Income Tax Department is set to launch a comprehensive drive this fiscal year to track down individuals and entities who are obligated to file tax returns but have either failed to do so or evaded taxes. Sources within the department have revealed that a staggering 15.2 million individual taxpayers have been identified who either have income or have faced tax deduction at source (TDS) but have not fulfilled their tax filing obligations, as reported by the Economic Times.
Starting next week, from April 15, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has directed its field officers to reach out to these individuals. A senior official emphasized that many individuals and entities had tax deducted at source but failed to file their returns.
In the previous fiscal year 2022-23, approximately 89 million taxpayers were recorded, out of which 74 million returns were filed, including revised ones. Shockingly, an estimated 19.7 million individuals did not file their income tax returns (ITRs) despite experiencing TDS. Among these, around 19.3 million were individuals, 28,000 were Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), 121,000 were firms, and the remaining fell into various other categories, as per the official’s statement.
Earlier this month, the Central government announced that it had nearly met its tax collection target of over Rs 34.37 lakh crore for the fiscal year 2023-24, attributing this success to robust economic activity and enhanced compliance. In the revised estimates presented in Parliament on February 1, 2024, the government raised the target for direct tax collection in FY24 to Rs 19.45 lakh crore, while for indirect taxes (GST + Customs + Excise), the target was revised to Rs 14.84 lakh crore.
Last week, the Income Tax Department made the income tax return forms, namely ITR-1, ITR-2, and ITR-4, for FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25) available for e-filing on its portal. Eligible taxpayers can now log in and fill out their ITRs for FY 2023-24 using these forms.
Additionally, the Income Tax Department has introduced offline Excel utilities for ITR-1, ITR-2, and ITR-4, and has now announced the release of offline JSON utilities for ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4, and ITR-6 for the Fiscal Year 2023-24 (Assessment Year 2024-25).
There are seven distinct types of Income Tax Return (ITR) forms tailored to different categories of individuals, businesses, and corporations. These include ITR 1 (Sahaj), ITR 2, ITR 3, ITR 4 (Sugam), ITR 5, ITR 6, and ITR 7. Notably, Forms ITR‑1 and ITR‑4 are structured to simplify the filing process for a significant segment of small to medium taxpayers.
For individuals and entities falling under these categories, it is crucial to adhere to the Income Tax Department’s guidelines to ensure compliance and avoid potential penalties or notices for non-filing or evasion of taxes.
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