I-T dept collects Rs 28-cr in taxes from new ITR-U filing

• Aug 26, 2022
  The Income-tax department has collected around Rs 28 crore in taxes after about 1 lakh returns were filed by taxpayers under the newly introduced return filing form called ITR-U, that was notified this year as part of the Budget 2022-23. CBDT Chairman Nitin Gupta said the scheme was brought by the Union government for the benefit of taxpayers so that they can comply with their tax responsibilities without getting into hassles of the law.The abbreviation ITR-U stands for 'income tax return-updated' and is available to taxpayers for filing updated returns for 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years or assessment years 2020-21 and 2021-22.
  

Income Tax

Direct tax collections rise 33% till August 24

• Aug 26, 2022
  
  

• The Centre’s direct tax collections (post-refunds) grew by a robust 33% on year till August 24 of the current financial year, with both personal income tax (PIT) and corporate income tax (CIT) performing much better than anticipated, thanks to higher compliance and a favourable base effect, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Nitin Gupta said. Despite higher refunds, direct tax collections stood at about Rs 4.8 trillion as on August 24 of the current fiscal. During the period, refunds rose by a sharp 78% to about Rs 93,000 crore, compared to Rs 52,000 crore in the year-ago period, Gupta said. The Centre’s direct tax collections are expected to exceed the FY23 Budget target of Rs 14.2 trillion by a substantial amount, as the target for the year is at par with actual receipts of last fiscal.

Income Tax

CBDT urges gamers to pay taxes under new scheme

• Aug 26, 2022
  
  

• Having identified huge tax evasion in the thriving online gaming industry, the tax department wants the winners in such games to use the updated income tax returns (ITR-U) scheme to disclose their incomes and pay the right amounts of taxes with applicable interest.Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Nitin Gupta said on Thursday that players associated with just one gaming portal have been found to have netted as much as Rs 58,000 crore in the three years through FY22 as the gross winning amount.

Income Tax

Supreme Court set to review PMLA verdict, reconsider two provisions

Aug 26, 2022

The Supreme CourT agreed to consider a plea seeking a review of its earlier judgment upholding the constitutional validity of anti-money laundering provisions, including the powers of arrest and seizure.The court said it would re-examine two provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), one with respect to providing a copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) to the accused and another related to the burden of proof on the accused regarding innocence.A Bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said prima facie the two issues, including not providing the ECIR, required reconsideration, and sought a response from the Centre on the issue. During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the review petitioner, MP Karti Chidambaram, said the Act could be looked into if the court was reviewing its judgment. However, Justice Ram­ana did not accede to this request.

General

ARCs, gaming, betting under lens: CBDT chief

Aug 27, 2022

Aided by data from multiple sources and data analytics, the income tax department has started scrutinising newer areas such as asset reconstruction companies, gaming and betting to plug tax evasion.“We are not limiting our actions (search and seizure operations) to real estate developers, healthcare, pharma and manufacturing. We have touched upon new areas which were never touched upon,” Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman Nitin Gupta has said.

Income Tax

Clarificatory circular on new TDS provisions for banks soon, says CBDT chairman

Aug 27, 2022

The CBDT will soon come out with a circular for various stakeholders, especially banks, to "clarify" the procedures on the applicability of new TDS provisions regarding benefits or prerequisites received in a business or profession. CBDT Chairman Nitin Gupta said the board, which frames policies for the Income-Tax department, will issue an official explainer on the subject, including the "pressing" issue of one-time settlement (OTS) being faced by the banks.
"We will clarify the position that will be helpful to the stakeholders. We will be coming out with a clarificatory circular very soon," he said during an interaction on Thursday. Gupta said all issues on the canvass of section 194R of the Income Tax Act will be addressed as part of the forthcoming circular. While the CBDT had issued a set of guidelines in June with regard to the applicability of the newly introduced section 194R in the Income Tax Act, the banking sector had specific concerns with regard to their businesses and operations.

Tax Deduction at Source

Exemption-free tax regime needs tweaking, analysts

Aug 29, 2022

With few takers for the income tax regime without exemptions even after two years of its introduction, the government may consider allowing some basic deductions and make the slabs more graded to make it more attractive to taxpayers under different brackets, analysts say. However, the dual regime tax regime may continue for another 2-3 years until the new regime finds acceptability through a mix of deductions and lower tax rates.

Income Tax

CBDT asks those who have won money in online games to pay taxes, file updated ITR

Aug 30, 2022

If you have won money playing online games in the previous financial year, then as per the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), you must file an updated ITR (i.e., ITR-U) and pay taxes on the online game winnings accordingly.The CBDT chairman Nitin Gupta, in an interview with PTI, said that ITR-U could also be utilised by those categories of taxpayers who have income from online games, lotteries and betting etc. "This is a provision for them to come forward and pay taxes rather than face the consequences of penalty or any other legal action under the income tax law," the CBDT chairman said.
ITR-U stands for income tax return - updated; announced by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget 2022 speech. ITR-U is filed under section 139(8A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. ITR-U or updated return was introduced to give taxpayers an easy route to correct mistakes related to estimating their incomes on which tax is payable.
ITR-U provides an opportunity to update one's income tax returns within two years after the end of the relevant assessment year. ITR-U provides an opportunity for taxpayers to include any income they forget to pay tax on while filing their ITR. It is important to note that additional tax is payable at 25% to 50% on the additional income.

Income Tax