The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for 2017-18 have brought cheer to honest tax payers with announcements of tax breaks for the salaried class.
However, the Budget, which has been termed as one of fiscal prudence, also seeks to make tax compliance and reporting more stringent. Fiance minister Jailtey has proposed a fine of up to Rs 10,000 for delays in filing the Income Tax Returns.
As per the proposal, if the ITR is filed after the due date but on or before December 31 of the assessment year, there will be a fine of Rs 5,000. If the ITR is filed after December 31, the fine amount will be doubled to Rs 10,000.
An individual whose income is below Rs 5 lakh will, however, will have to pay a maximum of Rs 1,000 late fee, the proposal said.
Jaitley on Wednesday announced that a person filing Income Tax Return (ITR) for the first time in the income category of Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per annum will not be subject to scrutiny for the first year.
Presenting the Budget for next fiscal, the FM also proposed a simplified one-page form to be filed as ITR for the individuals from the Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per annum income category.
Presenting data before the Lok Sabha, Jaitley yesterday said that in terms of individuals, the number of Indians with a declared annual income above Rs 50 lakh stands at a paltry 1.72 lakh, while only 24 lakh people show income above Rs 10 lakh.
Among the 3.7 crore individuals who filed the tax returns in 2015-16, 99 lakh show income below the exemption limit of Rs 2.5 lakh p.a., 1.95 crore show income between Rs 2.5 to Rs 5 lakh, 52 lakh show income between Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakhs and only 24 lakh people show income above Rs 10 lakhs.
Of the 76 lakh individual assesses who declare income above Rs 5 lakh, 56 lakh are in the salaried class. The number of people showing income more than Rs 50 lakh in the entire country is only 1.72 lakh.
