ITR Filing Tips Financial Year 2019-2020

Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019 has inserted a new seventh proviso to section 139(1) to provide for mandatory filing of return of income for undertaking certain high-value transactions even though the person is otherwise not required to file a return of income due to the fact that total income is below the basic exemption limit.

Currently, a person other than a company or a firm is required to furnish the return of income only if his total income exceeds the maximum amount not chargeable to tax, subject to certain exceptions. Therefore, a person entering into certain high-value transactions is not necessarily required to furnish his return of income.

In order to ensure that persons who enter into certain high-value transactions do furnish their return of income, section 139 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 is amended so as to provide that a person shall be mandatorily required to file his return of income, if, during the previous year, such a person undertakes certain high-value transactions.

Compulsory filing of return:

1. It is proposed to make return filing compulsory for persons, who have deposited more than Rs. 1 crore in a current account in a year, or

2. who have expended more than Rs. 2 lakh on foreign travel or

3. more than Rs. 1 lakh on electricity consumption in a year or who fulfils the prescribed conditions, in order to ensure that persons who enter into high value transactions also furnish return of income.

4. It is also proposed to provide that a person whose income becomes lower than maximum amount not chargeable to tax due to claim of rollover benefit of capital gains shall also be required to furnish the return.

Deposit has included all kind of transaction either in cash or cheque or online fund transfer. Saving account outside the purview of this provision. The aggregate deposits in all the current accounts maintained in all of the banks including for determining the threshold of Rs. 1 crore.

Expenditure exceeding more than 2 lakh incurred by a person for a foreign travel for himself or for any other person and electricity bills exceeding Rs 1 lakh also furnish return of income. The expenditure on the consumption of electricity is only covered under this provision.

Are you filing return of income under Seventh proviso to section 139(1) but otherwise not required to furnish return of income? If yes, please furnish above information:

Section 80D is very specific regarding 80D payment towards Preventive Health Checkup & Senior Citizen & their Expenditure.

"Whether you or any of your family member (excluding parents) is a senior citizen?"

Since it is stipulated that all investments should be paid out of chargeable income during the financial therefore ITR also insert on raw :-

"Whether, you have made any investment/ deposit/ payments between 01.04.2020 to 31.07.2020 for the purpose of claiming any deduction under Part B of Chapter VIA? [Yes/No]"

Returns in ITR-1 can be filed by a resident of the country whose total income does not exceed Rs 50 lakh.

The author can also be reached at mohan1977arya@gmail.com