Indian Government has notified the new forms with the onset of the new financial year i.e., 1st April, 2016. The Finance Ministry published a gazette order in this regard on March 30 and taxpayers can file their ITRs till the stipulated deadline of July 31.
In regard to this order and the new forms notified, it is important to note the following:
- ITR-1- The simplest ITR-1 (Sahaj) for individuals having income from salaries, one house property or other sources.
Now features an additional column to mention the Tax Collected at Source (TCS) and the form now has 7 pages as compared to the earlier five.
- ITR-2A– This Form is to be filled by those individuals and HUFs who do not have income from either business, profession or by way of capital gains and do not hold foreign assets. For such individuals and HUFs, the new Form has the new column called Pass Through Income (PTI). This seeks details from business trust or investment fund as per section 115UA and 115UB of the Income Tax Act (investments made in a venture capital company) which pertains to emerging companies or startup firms.
The ITR-2, used by similar category of entities but who own foreign assets, also features the new PTI column.
- ITR-2– The department has introduced a fresh reporting column in the new ITRs (ITR-2 and 2A) called ‘Asset and Liability at the end of the year’ which is applicable in cases where the total income exceeds Rs 50 lakhs.
Individuals and entities coming under this income bracket will also have to mention the total cost of such assets. So, while immovable assets like land and building have to be furnished under the new ITR regime, movable assets like cash in hand, jewellery, bullion, vehicles, yachts, boats and aircraft will also have to be disclosed to the taxman.
- ITR-4S– A new section has been added to the ITR- 4S seeking code, nature and description of the three main businesses–activities or products that you earn from. This section earlier existed in only ITR-4 only, a much lengthier form compared to ITR-4S. Moreover, the new ITR-4S can now be filed by partnership firms too. All they have to declare is the salary and interest paid to the partners.
ITR-4S now with three additions -specifying nature of business, salary and interest paid to partners (applicable only to firms) and schedule AL. this will be extra burden for taxpayers opting this Form.
About Author: Alok Patnia founded Taxmantra.com to understand and address the pain points of individuals, businesses and startups. He is an expert in handling online income tax return filing, has great insights on the business startup issues such as choosing right business entity and also has vast experience in the field of business maintenance services such as accounting, auditing, company law compliances, service tax and other related fields.
