Preparation to crack down on those who steal income tax, I-T department made a strong plan
Income Tax: The Income Tax Department has started preparations to crack down on tax evaders. For this, a plan has been made at the national level. The officials are keeping a close eye on the IT returns. Meanwhile, the government is also hoping to expand the tax base.
Income tax officials have decided to launch an intensive investigation drive to check tax evasion during the current financial year under the guidelines issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The officers have been asked to mandatorily investigate cases containing specific information about tax evasion on returns.
Such cases, which have been raised under section 148, will be specially monitored. This section empowers the tax authorities to estimate someone's income on the basis of available information.
Tax officials have said that people who have seen a sudden increase in their income are on the radar of the Income Tax Department. The income of such persons increased during the previous assessment year on account of multiple facts and should also be selected for scrutiny. The Income Tax Department, out of the returns filed every year, considers some cases worthy of scrutiny and takes action on them.
The authorities are keeping an eye on certain sets of taxpayers to ensure that they report their income correctly. The guidelines for the current financial year state that cases where surveys, searches, and seizures have been conducted or where notices have been issued seeking details under section 142(1) of the Income Tax Act, must be investigated.
While demanding mandatory scrutiny of these returns, the department has also made it clear that the officers will have to follow the specified parameters. Approval will be required in cases of international taxation of income.
The government is looking forward to expanding the tax base and over the years the focus has shifted to areas where Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) or Collection at Source (TCS) is levied. Along with this data, information coming from GST and other agencies is being used to create the database. The information received is then matched with the tax return.
The I-T department on Wednesday also extended the deadline for submission of applications for registration for charitable and religious trusts till September 30.
