The Return of Income

(i) is in occupation of an immovable property exceeding a specified floor area, whether by way of ownership, tenancy or otherwise, as may be specified by the Board in this behalf; or

(ii) is the owner or the lessee of a motor vehicle other than a two-wheeled motor vehicle, whether having any detachable side car having extra wheel attached to such two-wheeled motor vehicle or not; or

(iii) is a subscriber to a cellular telephone not being a wireless in local loop telephone; or

(iv) has incurred expenditure for himself or any other person on travel to any foreign country; or

(v) is the holder of a credit card, not being an "add-on" card, issued by any bank or institution; or

(vi) is a member of a club where entrance fee charged is twenty-five thousand rupees or more,

shall furnish a return, of his income during the previous year, on or before the due date in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner and setting forth such other particulars as may be prescribed (Read Section 139 of Income Tax Act)

A person needs to file an income-tax return if his/her income is above the basic exemption limits. For the financial year 2006-2007, for males the exemption Limit is Rs 1 lakh, females - Rs 1.35 lakh, and for senior citizens, the exemption limit is, and Rs1.85 lakh, respectively.

Filing returns is mandatory above these limits, even for a salaried person without other sources of income, and for whom tax has been deducted at source.

The last date for filing returns is July 31, 2008. However, it may be advantageous to file returns anyway, as they are usually demanded by banks and financial institutions when one makes investments or takes loans. Also, if refund has to be claimed for tax deduction at source, this becomes important.

Documents to be Attached ?

No document to be attached with ITR forms. However, all documents used for calculating income-tax return, such as Form 16, bank statements and advance tax receipts are to be preserved , Maybe the Income Tax Officer call for these later, to check the co-relation of details in the form.

Mandatory disclosures

Investments made in bank deposits, mutual funds, shares or even property in the year 2006-07, above certain threshold, needs to be disclosed as under:

Where and how to file returns?

As the process has been centralised, filing of IT returns can be done anywhere in the country, at IT offices and even post-offices. If a person has relocated, just the change of address needs to be intimated and the filing can be done at the new location.

Electronic filing of returns introduced in 2004. Individuals can file returns through authorised intermediaries who digitise the data and send it to the IT Department. However, there have been problems regarding e-filed returns and delays in the processing

Penalties for late filing

If there are no balance taxes to be paid, no interest can be levied. However, a penalty of Rs 5,000 can be imposed by the Tax Department. In case there are tax arrears, 1 per cent per month as interest on the taxes due will be levied as penalty.

Obligation to apply for Permanent Account Number (PAN) 

With a view to check tax evasion, as also to facilitate tax administration, it has been made obligatory for assesses to get allotted Permanent Account Numbers from the Income Tax Department. For this purpose, those who have not been allotted Permanent Account Numbers so far and who estimate their income for the year to be more than the maximum amount not chargeable to Income Tax (the present limit is Rs. 50,000/-) or whose turnover / gross receipts in business / profession are or are to exceed Rs.5,00,000/- likely are required to apply for allotment of Permanent Account Numbers in the prescribed form (Form No. 49A) to the Assessing officer having jurisdiction over the person. A specimen application of Form no. 49A is given in Annexure 49. W.e.f. 1-6-2000, the government may notify any class of persons such as importers,exporters, etc.. whether tax is payable by them or not, requiring them to apply for PAN.

PAN is a 10 digit code allotted to each assesses by I.T. Dept.

Following Assesses should own or obtain PAN :

1. Every person whose total Income exceeds the Taxable Limit.

2. Every Business or Profession whose total Sales, Turnover, or Gross receipts exceed Rs. 5 Lakhs.

3. Every person shall quote his PAN or GIR in all documents pertaining to :

a) Who Sales / Purchases any immovable property worth Rs.5 Lakhs or more.

b) Who Sells or Purchases Motor Vehicle or Vehicle which require registration.

c) Who opens a Time Deposit Account with Banks / Post Offices exceeding Rs. 50,000

d) Who deposits amount exceeding Rs.50,000 in Post Office Savings Bank.

e) Who Sales or Purchases Securities exceeding Rs. 1 Lakh.

f) Who opens a Bank Account * .

g) Who makes payment to Hotels & Restaurants against bills exceeding Rs.25,000 at a time.

h) Who wants to purchase DD/Pay Order/ Banker’s Cheque by payment of cash aggregate Rs. 50,000 or more during any one day from a Bank.

i) Payment in cash exceeding Rs.25,000 in connection with Foreign Travel.

j) Payment of an amount of Rs.50,000 or more to buy Mutual Fund, Shares, Debentures or Bonds.

* Those not having PAN/GIR No. can submit a simple declaration in Form No. 60/61.

Any person who has not been allotted PAN/GIR No. and who makes payment in cash otherwise than by way of A/c payee Cheque or Draft or issued by any Bank in respect of any of the above listed transaction, should file a simple declaration in Form No. 60 giving the particulars of the transaction.