The following Press Release dated 2-7-2012 has been issued by the Minstry of Finance:
CBDT has issued notification S.O. 626(E), dated 28th March 2012 vide which e-Filing has been made compulsory for Assessment Year 2012-13 onwards for :
• an individual or a Hindu undivided family, if his or its total income, or the total income in respect of which he is or it is assessable under the Act during the previous year, exceeds ten lakh rupees; and
• an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), being a resident, having assets (including financial interest in any entity) located outside India or signing authority in any account located outside India and required to furnish the return in Form ITR-2 or ITR-3 or ITR-4.
However, digital signature will not be mandatory for these taxpayers and they can also transmit the data in the return electronically and thereafter submit the verification of the return in Form ITR-V.
2. Filing of returns electronically under digital signatures is already mandatory for any company required to furnish the return in Form ITR-6 or a firm required to furnish the return in Form ITR-5 or an individual or HUF required to furnish the return in Form ITR-4 and to whom provisions of section 44AB are applicable.
3. The Income Tax Department has received a record number of 1.64 crore income tax returns electronically in the year 2011-12. E-filing is an easy, fast and secure method of filing of income tax return. The electronically filed returns are processed at the Centralized Processing Centre, Bengaluru. The processing for e-filed return is faster and taxpayers get their refunds, if due, quickly. The Department also provides some value added services like tracking of refunds, viewing tax credit status (Form 26AS), e-mail and SMS alerts regarding status of processing and refunds to taxpayers who e-file their returns.
The lately introduced e’filing of tax return, now extended and made mandatory to individuals, etc., has been commended in several quarters to be an innovative and foolproof idea. In real life situation that it is not really so, and in all cases, has come to surface in a recently reported Bombay HC’s judgment in Crawford Bayley & Co. v UOI , (2012) 343 ITR 232.
For a narration of the Court’s verdict refer the SIRC Bangalore Branch Newsletter. The realization of the danger lurking, for no fault of taxpayer, has come as a bloomer. In that, it is bound to have sent a shock wave down the spine of conscious taxpayers who sincerely follow the filing procedure, without knowing the potential problem likely to crop up / be confronted with in case of any system fault.
It is incorrigible that, a lowly AO, in his wisdom, or for lack of it, thought of treating the return, albeit admittedly e’filed and uploaded, as ‘invalid’ on the narrow/crooked premise that ITR -V Form duly signed and sent, was, according to him, not reached.
This is a matter of grave concern common to every taxpayer ; hence for obvious reasons, deserve to be paid immediate attention by the CBDT and issuance of a suitable Circular is a must; so as to saving taxpayers from recurrence of any such unwarranted , nay unimaginable, consequence to them.
Incidentally, so far as one could see, even in terms of section 139 (8), the anti-taxpayer stance taken / seemingly vindictive action resorted to by the AO in the reported case cannot be regarded as fortified by any logic; rather, is prima facie misguided. In any case, it is indefensible and can hold no water, on principles of natural justice.
If critically viewed, it is the so called common sense that has been pushed to take a backseat.