New Income Tax Return Forms for Assessment Year 2011-12.

CBDT notifies New Income Tax Return Forms for the Assessment Year 2011-12. 
ITR I has been renamed as ITR I Sahaj and a new return for small businessman as Presumptive Business Income tax Return has been introduced as SUGAM (ITR-4S). However the forms a not available yet in the site
Download the Return Forms..

Biometric PAN to be introduced

The government has decided to issue biometric PAN cards to taxpayers across the country to weed out the problem of duplicate and fake ones. The decision was taken recently by the finance ministry.
Source : The Telegraph.
The government has decided to issue biometric PAN cards to taxpayers across the country to weed out the problem of duplicate and fake ones.

The decision was taken recently by the finance ministry and it comes in the wake of a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report that asked the income tax department to ensure that a single tax payer is not issued multiple cards.

The proposed new biometric Permanent Account Number (PAN) cards would bear the I-T assessee's' fingerprints (two from each hand) and the face.

There could be an option to existing PAN card holders to opt for the biometric cards, but it may not be mandatory, a senior official in the I-T department said.

The finance ministry and the I-T department had put on hold the biometric PAN card project last year to avoid duplication with the UID numbers to be issued by Nandan Nilekani's Unique Identity Authority of India UIDAI).

"The biometric PAN card project is on again. The step will be very important when it comes to stopping the misuse of this vital identity document," top sources in the finance ministry said.

The biometric PAN card was proposed by the then finance minister P Chidambaram in 2006 to counter the problem of duplicate PAN cards which were uncovered during I-T searches and raids by police and other enforcement agencies.

The CAG report for 2010-11 on direct taxes, tabled in Parliament recently, has revealed that 958 lakh (95.8 million) PANs were issued up to March 2010 but I-T returns filed in the last fiscal were only 340.9 lakh (34.09 million).

The gap between PAN holders and the number of returns filed was 617.1 lakh (61.7 million), the CAG has said.

Suggesting the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to identify the reasons for the gap and use the information to enhance the assessee base, the CAG has said it may be due to issuance of multiple PAN cards and death of some PAN card holders.

"The (I-T) department needs to put in place appropriate controls to weed out the duplicate PANs and also update the position in respect of deceased assessees," the report has said.

The plan has been set rolling for issuance of biometric PAN cards, according to sources. It is expected that the first such cards could be issued by late this year, they said.

While PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number allotted by the I-T department to taxpayers, biometrics uses biological method to identify physical features of an individual.

Source : Times of India.

Income Tax Dept Exam : Result expected in April, DCIT to JCIT Ad hoc Promotion : Order issued.

From the desk of Chairman,CBDT       S.N. 28 /March 30 ,2011

ITOs / ITIs Departmental Examination 2010’s Results Declaration

            As you all know, the Departmental Examinations 2010 for ITOs / ITIs scheduled to commence from Aug 23 2010 had ultimately commenced only on Nov 29 2010. Following is schedule of exams, number of candidates & date of declaration of results for three years:

{View the IRS officers online site for downloading JCIT Promotion Order

Year of Exam	2008	2009	2010
Schedule of Examination	Nov 05 to Nov 14 08	Oct 26 to Nov 06 09	Nov 29 to Dec 08 2010
No. of Candidates appeared	8,496	7,600	9,700
Date of Declaration of Result	May 09	May 2010	April 11 (Expected)

Forgot to file your return ? Remember the deadline : 31st March

Yet to file your Income Tax Return for the Financial Year 2009-10 ? Hurry, file it within 31^st March 2012. That is the last date for filing the return for A.Y. 2011-12. You would not have to be penalized by the Income Tax Dept. for non filing or return. If there is no tax due from you, the department will not charge any interest for late filing of return u/s 234A.

Mostly the salaried people get their tax deducted by the employer by means of TDS and they submit a statement to their D.D.O. in this respect. But till then he has a liability to file the return of Income if has a total income more than the threshold limit which is not chargeable to tax.

The liability of filing return is though going to be dispensed with fore the salaried class but the guideline is yet to be framed by CBDT. It may be mentioned that it will be applicable for the F.Y. 2012-13 only as proposed in the budget. Till then even the salaried persons will have to file their return of income.

If you want to avoid the last minute rush at the Income Tax offices, you can easily file your return ONLINE. Please visit the earlier post in this regard for easy steps of efiling without approaching the Income Tax office.

So hurry, time is ticking away……remember the deadline…31^st March 2011.

How to e file your return of income ? View easy steps.

The Income Tax of India website lets taxpayers of all kinds, to file their returns online, free of cost. The steps involved are explained in the main home page of the website. 

Before you begin, keep all relevant information such as your Form 16, your investment details, your income from other sources etc., ready at hand.

Step 1: You would need to register with the portal through which you desire to file your returns. Most tax return filing sites are user-friendly and help you through the process in a step-by-step manner. You can achieve the same task by downloading Excel utility from the IT department website. However it may be difficult to use.

Step 2: Details such as name, address, PAN, total salary, deductions etc are collected in a digital format.

Step 3: An ITR XML file is generated which is your electronic income tax return. Do not try to make sense of it as it's a bit technical.

Step 4: You would need to upload this ITR XML file on the Income Tax website. For doing this, an account needs to be created in the Income Tax website using your Permanent Account Number.

Once uploaded, an acknowledgement receipt called ITR Form-V would be generated. This needs to be signed and sent to 'Income Tax Department -- CPC, Post Box No. 1, Electronic City Post Office, Bangalore -- 560100, Karnataka' within 120 days of e-filing.
 
Step 5: You would receive a confirmation from the IT department, acknowledging the receipt of ITR-V. This is your final acknowledgement that concludes your e-tax filing.

As you would be entering your financial information, ensure the site you log in to is trust worthy and has a security certificate.

If you do not wish to post the ITR-V form to the IT office, you could alternatively use an 'electronic signature' to authenticate your identity. Sending by post is mandatory only when returns are filed without the use of a signature.

If the ITR-V is not submitted within 120 days of e-filing, what has been submitted will be considered as null and void. In such a case you will have to file your returns again, get a new ITR-V and submit the same within 120 days.

If one requires an 'E-Refund', that is, when the refund process is carried out electronically, the details of refund (if any) are filled up online in a prescribed form. After approval of refund request by the concern authority, the refund amount will credited to your bank account.

E File your Return Here.

Source : Rediff.com