Income Tax alert! The Income Tax Department is sending emails and SMSes to taxpayers, just ahead of the year-end, alerting them of mismatches in their deduction and exemption claims while processing Income Tax Returns. The blunt emails are being received by two categories of income tax payers - the salaried individuals whose claims are not reflecting in Form 16, and the wealthy individuals who appear to have donated money running into lakhs for charities. Form 16 is a consolidated statement of salary paid and tax deducted at source, which employers submit to the Income Tax Department on behalf of their staff. The income tax notices suggest that the assessment of income tax returns and the release of refunds have been paused for these categories of taxpayers. The unexpected arrival of these “do not reply” emails from the Income Tax Department in the inboxes of certain taxpayers has caused unease, according to an ET report.
A December 23 release from the Income Tax Department described the exercise as one meant to assist assessees and encourage voluntary compliance. However, the sharp wording of the emails has left many taxpayers confused about their next steps. Those who have received alerts from the tax department are uncertain whether they should ignore the messages or retract the claimed benefits and file revised returns before the December 31 cut off.Also Read | ITR filing: Received ‘nudge’ from Income Tax Department for tax...
Income Tax alert! The Income Tax Department is sending emails and SMSes to taxpayers, just ahead of the year-end, alerting them of mismatches in their deduction and exemption claims while processi...