Salaried employees earning up to Rs 5 lakh a year will not be required to file income tax returns from this year, says a Finance Ministry notification.
There are about 85 lakh salaried persons in the country whose yearly income, including earnings from other sources like bank deposits, does not exceed Rs 5 lakh.
“An individual whose total income for the relevant assessment year does not exceed Rs 5 lakh and consists of only income chargeable to income-tax under...salaries... (and) income from other sources, by way of interest from a saving account in a bank, not exceeding Rs 10,000” have been exempted from filing the returns from assessment year 2012-13”, it said.
Exemption from filing will be permitted only if the person has received a certificate of tax deduction in Form 16 from his or her employer.
To claim income tax refund, however, such persons will have to file returns.
Prior to the notification, it was obligatory for all salaried persons to file income tax returns under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
It is felt that in cases where there are no other sources of income, filing of a return is a duplication of existing information, sources said.
At present, income of Rs 1.80-5 lakh attracts 10 per cent tax, Rs 5-8 lakh 20 per cent and above Rs 8 lakh, 30 per cent.
The Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill, presently being scrutinised by a Parliamentary panel, proposes to raise the tax exemption limit to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.80 lakh.
Keywords: income tax returns
To end all these complicated income tax procedures for salaried people, it is better to set a slab system as followed for professional tax.
There will be a mandatory provision to file I T returns irrespective of employees Income Limit. There is no need to change in Tax Deduction at Source. The employer must, as usually, deduct the TDS wherever the TDS provisions attract, other wise, there is no control in financial transactions. If the deduction taken place, the employee, instinctively, apply for refund.
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