new Return Forms for Assessment Year 2009-10

Circular No.  03 / 2009
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F.No. 142/02/2009-TPL 
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
….
        New Delhi, the 21th
 May, 2009
 
Subject:-    New  Return  Forms  for  Assessment  Year  2009-10  – matters  connected
thereto – regarding.
_______________________________________________________________________
The Central Board of Direct Taxes have, vide notification S.O. No.866 (E) dated 27th
, March,
notified the following new forms for Assessment Year 2009-10 :-
      (i)  ITR-1  return  of  income  for  individuals  having  income  from  salary/  pension/  family
pension  and  not  having  any  other  income  except  income  by  way  of  interest
chargeable to income-tax under the head Income from other sources; 
(ii)  ITR-2  return  of  income  for  Individuals  and Hindu Undivided Families  (HUFs)  not
having any income under the head Profits or gains of business or profession;
(iii)  ITR-3  return  of  income  for  Individuals  and HUFs  being  partners  in  firms  and  not
carrying out business or profession under any proprietorship;
(iv)  ITR-4  return  of  income  for  individual  and  HUFs  having  proprietory  business  or
profession;
(v) ITR-5 combined form for return of income and fringe benefits for Firms/ Association
of Persons / Body of Individuals;
(vi)  ITR-6 combined form for return of income and fringe benefits for companies (other
than companies claiming exemption under section 11;
(vii) ITR-7 combined form for return of income and fringe benefits for persons including
companies  required  to  furnish  return  under  section  139(4A)  or  section
139(4B) or section 139(4C) or section 139(4D);
(viii)  ITR-8  stand  alone  form  for  return  of  fringe  benefits  for  persons  who  are  not
required  to  furnish  return  of  income  but  are  required  to  furnish  return  of
fringe benefits. 
The above return forms are available at http//www.incometaxindia.gov.in.  Circular No.  03 / 2009
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2.   Rule  12  of  the  Income  Tax  Rules,  1962  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  ‘the  said  rule’)
provides for the form and the manner in which the income tax return is required to be furnished.
3.   Sub-rule  (3)  of  the  said  rule  provides  that  return  of  income/  fringe  benefits  can  be
furnished in any of the following manners:- 
(i)   furnishing the return in a paper form;
(ii)   furnishing the return electronically under digital signature;
(iii)   transmitting  the  data  in  the  return  electronically  and  thereafter  submitting  the
verification of the return in Form ITR-V;
 (iv)    furnishing a bar-coded return in a paper form.
4.  Sub-rule  (5)  of  the    said  rule  provides  that  the  return  of  income/  fringe  benefits  for
assessment  year  2008-09  or  any  earlier  assessment  years  shall  be  furnished  in  the  appropriate
form as applicable in that assessment year.
5   In  exercise  of  the  powers  conferred  by  section  139D    of  the  Income  Tax  Act,1961
(hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’), ( read with clause (eebb) of sub-section (2) of section 295
of the Act, sub-rule (3) of the said rule provides that-
  (a)   it  shall  be  mandatory  for  the  firms  to  whom  provisions  of  section  44AB  are
applicable and  for  the companies  (other  than  the companies claiming exemption
under section 11) to furnish the return of income/ fringe benefits electronically in
the manner mentioned at (ii) or (iii) of paragraph 3; 
  (b)  the return of income/ fringe benefits in Form ITR-7 by charitable/ religious trusts,
political parties and other non-profit is to be furnished in the paper form only; and 
  (c)  all other taxpayers have the option to furnish the return of income/ fringe benefits
in any of the manner mentioned in paragraph 3. 
6.  In  exercise  of  the  powers  conferred  by  section  139C  of  the  Income  Tax  Act,1961
(hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’), read with clause (eeba) of sub-section (2) of section 295 of
the Act, sub-rule (2) of the said rule provides that the returns required to be furnished in above
mentioned Forms  (except  in  ITR-7)  shall  not  be  accompanied  by  any  attachments/  annexures.
Thus,  taxpayers  should  not  enclose  with  these  return  forms  any  statement  showing  the
computation  of  income  or  tax,  copies  of  balance-sheet,  profit  and  loss  account,  TDS/  TCS
certificates, proof of payment of advance tax or self-assessment tax. However, these documents
shall  have  to  be  produced  before  the  Assessing  Officer  on  demand  by  him.  The  Chief
Commissioners of Income-tax/ Commissioners of Income-tax must ensure that documents if any, Circular No.  03 / 2009
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annexed with  these  returns or Form  ITR-V are detached at  the  time of  receiving  these  returns/
ITR-V and are returned to the taxpayers immediately.
7.   Following clarifications are also issued in respect of certain issues arising from furnishing
the returns in the above mentioned forms:
(i)                  An  assessee  should  obtain  the  report  of  audit  from  an  accountant  under
section  44AB  of  the Act  on  or  before  the  due  date  of  the  furnishing  of  the  return  and
should  fill  out  the  relevant  columns  of  the  return  forms  on  the  basis  of  such  report.
However,  the  report  of  audit  should  not  be  attached  with  the  return  or  furnished
separately  any  time  before  or  after  the  due  date. The  assessee  should  retain  the  report
with himself. If called for by any  income-tax authority during any proceeding under  the
Act, it shall be incumbent upon the assessee to furnish/produce the same  in original. No
penalty  under  section  271B  shall  be  initiated  or  levied  for  not  furnishing  the  tax  audit
report on or before the due date. However, if the audit report has not been obtained before
the due date, provisions of section 271B shall continue to be attracted. 
(ii)               These returns are not to be accompanied with any other document including
any statutory form or report of audit (other  than  the report under section 92E), which  is
otherwise required to be furnished before the due date or along with the return for making
any  claim.  The  provisions  of  the  law  shall  be  deemed  to  have  been  complied with  in
respect of the requirement of the filing of the attachments or documents or reports along
with the return. No penalty shall be initiated/ levied for not furnishing such documents if
such documents were otherwise obtained before the specified date, if any, provided in the
statute. All  these  documents  should  be  retained  by  the  taxpayers.  If  called  for  by  any
income-tax authority during any proceeding under the Act, it shall be incumbent upon the
assessee to furnish/produce the same, in original. 
(iii)             The report as required under section 92E of the Income-tax Act should not be
furnished along with  the  return.   However,  it  should be  separately  furnished before  the
date specified in rule 10E.
 
8.  As stated in paragraph 5 above, it is mandatory for a company and a firm liable to audit
under section 44AB of the Act to furnish the return electronically.  However, electronic filing is
optional  for  other  categories  of  tax-payers.  The  e-Return  has  to  be  furnished  at
http://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.  Further, it is advisable, though not mandatory, to use a
digital  signature  for  electronically  furnishing  the  return.    If  the  return  is  electronically
furnished under a digital signature, the tax-payer is not required to furnish the Form ITR-V with
the  Income-tax Department  as  a  follow  up  to  the  electronic  transmitting  of  data  in  the  return. 
Similarly,  any  return  which  is  digitally  signed  by  the  assessee  and  filed  with  an  E-Return
Intermediary  (ERI), who,  in  turn,  submits  the  return  to  the  Income Tax Department  under  his Circular No.  03 / 2009
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digital signature, will also be deemed to have been filed under a digital signature of the assessee
and no Form ITR-V is required to be submitted. In such cases, the date of electronic transmission
of the data in the return shall be the date of furnishing the return.
9.  However,  if  the assessee does not use  a digital  signature  for  electronically  transmitting
the  data,  he  is  required  to  follow-up  the  electronic  transmission  of  the  data  by  submitting  the
Form ITR-V with the Income-tax Department as verification of the electronic filing of the return.
In such a case,  the date of  transmitting  the data electronically will be  the date of furnishing  the
return  if  the Form  ITR-V  is  furnished within  thirty days after  the date of  transmitting  the data
electronically.  In  case,  Form  ITR-V,  is  furnished  after  the  above mentioned  period,  it will  be
deemed  that  the return  in respect of which  the Form  ITR-V has been filed was never furnished
and it shall be incumbent on the assessee to electronically re-transmit the data and follow it up by
submitting the new Form ITR-V within thirty days.
 
10.  Since the Form ITR-V is bar-coded, assessee is advised not to fold the same and post it in
A4 size envelope. The assessee shall furnish  the Form ITR-V  to  the Income-tax Department by
mailing it to “Income Tax Department – CPC, Post Box No - 1, Electronic  City Post Office,
Bangalore  -  560100, Karnataka”    within  thirty  days  after  the  date  of  transmitting  the  data
electronically.    The  Post Box  shall  deliver  all  the  Form  ITR-V  to  the Centralized  Processing
Centre (CPC) of the Income-tax Department in Bangalore.   Upon receipt of the Form ITR-V, the
CPC shall send an e-mail acknowledging the receipt of Form ITR-V. The e-mail shall be sent in
due course to the e-mail address furnished by the tax-payers in his return. No Form ITR-V shall
be received in any other office of the Income-tax Department or in any other manner.       
11.  All  returns  filed  electronically  shall  be  processed,  on  priority  basis,  only  at  the
Centralized Processing Centre of the Income-tax Department in Bangalore.  
12.  Since  no  documents  are  required  to  be  furnished  along with  the  return  of  income,  the
credit for Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), Tax Collected at Source (TCS), advance  tax and self
assessment  tax (hereinafter collectively referred  to as ‘pre-paid taxes’) shall be allowed on  the
basis of  information  relating  to pre-paid  taxes  furnished  in  the  relevant  schedules of  the  return
forms  subject  to  matching  with  the  information  provided  by  the  deductor,  collector  and  the
banks.  Therefore, tax payers are advised to ensure that the information relating to pre-paid taxes
is  complete  in  all  respect  and  correct. With  a  view  to  enabling  the matching  of  information
relating  to pre-paid  taxes furnished by  the  tax payers,  the Income-tax Department has created a
system  of  Unique  Transaction  Number  (UTN)  and  Challan  Identification  Number  (CIN). 
Assesses must ensure that the deductor and the collector have provided them with separate UTNs
in respect of each TDS and TCS  transaction. Similarly,  they must also ensure  that  the UTN for
every TDS and TCS claim  in  the  return  is correctly  filled  in.   Similarly,  they must ensure  that
they  correctly  fill  in  the CIN  in  respect  of  payments  of  advance  tax  and  self-assessment  tax. Circular No.  03 / 2009
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Further, no disallowance of claim for pre-paid taxes shall be made by the Assessing Officer only
on the ground that the TDS/TCS certificates and challans have not been furnished along with the
return of income or Form ITR-V. 
 
13.  The return of income in Form No. ITR-1 to Form No.ITR-8 for Assessment Year 2009-
10 have been notified which require, amongst other,  the quoting of  the relevant UTN for every
TDS or TCS claim made by the assessee. Therefore, the credit for any TDS or TCS claim will be
allowed, amongst others, if the assessee quotes the relevant UTN for every TDS and TCS claim
and the said UTN matches with the UTN in the database of the Income Tax Department. With a
view  to enabling  the processing of returns relating  to financial year 2007-08 (Assessment Year
2008-09)  and  enabling  the  assessee  to  receive  the UTN  for TDS  and TCS  transactions  in  the
Financial Year 2008-09 (relevant for Assessment Year 2009-10), the following procedure will be
followed: - 
(a)  National  Securities Depository  Limited  (NSDL)  shall  assign  an UTN  for  every
TDS and TCS transaction record in Financial Year 2007-08 and 2008-09 reported
in the quarterly returns received by it. 
(b)  NSDL will create a  facility  to e-mail  the UTN  file  to  the deductor  if  the e-mail
address of the deductor is available with them. In addition, they will also create a
facility for the deductor to download the UTN file.
(c)  Upon  receipt of  the UTN,  the deductor will  inform  the UTN  to  the deductee.  In
cases  where  the  UTNs  are  available  to  the  deductor  before  the  issue  of  the
TDS/TCS certificate  to  the deductee,  the deductor will  indicate  the UTNs on  the
certificate.  However,  if  the  UTNs  are  not  available  to  the  deductor  before  the
issue  of  TDS/TCS  certificate,  the  deductor  shall,  subsequently,  send  a
consolidated statement of all TDS/TCS transactions indicating the UTNs. 
(d)  NSDL will also create a facility to allow independent viewing of the UTNs by the
deductee. As a result, even if the UTNs are not received by the deductee from the
deductor, they can be directly obtained from the NSDL database and quoted while
making claims of TDS and TCS in the return of income.
14.  In  the  past,  instances  have  come  to  the  notice  of  the  Board  that  in  spite  of  specific
directions  contained  in  the  Instructions  for  filling  the  return  forms,  the  practice  of  accepting
returns,  along with  annexures  is  still  continuing. Tax-payers  have  in  the  past  also  complained
that  staff  and  officials  in  certain  stations  are  refusing  to  accept  returns  which  are  not
accompanied  with  annexures.    These  practices  are  against  the  expressed  policy  of  the
Government and are not in consonance with the legal provisions. Therefore, it is emphasized that
Chief Commissioners of Income Tax must ensure strict compliance with the provisions of law. It Circular No.  03 / 2009
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may  be  reiterated  that  all  annexures  accompanying  the  income  tax  return  forms  should  be
detached and returned to the tax payers by the receiving official. 
15.  The  contents  of  this  circular  are  for  strict  compliance  by  all  officers  and  staff  of  the
Income Tax Department. Any violation by the officers and staff of Income Tax Department will
be seriously viewed.          
 
(Munesh Kumar)
Secretary, 
Central Board of Direct Taxes 
[F.No.142/02/2009-TPL]
Copy to:-
i.  PS to FM / OSD to FM / OSD to MOS(R).
ii.  PS to Secretary (Revenue).
iii.  The Chairman, Members and all other Officers in the CBDT.
iv.  All Chambers of Commerce/Industry/Trade Associations.
v.  All Chief Commissioners/Directors General of  Income-tax with a request  to circulate
amongst all officers in their regions/ charges.
vi.  Director General, National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur.
vii.   Directors,  Regional  Training  Institutes,  Ahmedabad/  Bangalore/  Chandigarh/
Chennai/ Kolkata/ Lucknow/ Mumbai.
viii.  Comptroller and Auditor General of India (40 copies).
ix.  Joint Secretary and Legal Advisor, Ministry of Law & Justice, New Delhi (10 copies)
x.  Secretary, Settlement Commission, New Delhi.
xi.  The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, I.P. Estate, New Delhi.
 
 
(Munesh Kumar)
Secretary
Central Board of Direct Taxes