Tag: Email Notice

AIS for Income Tax Returns and How to Access and Correct Errors in it

The Income Tax Department Monday said it is in the process of issuing notice to taxpayers about ‘mismatch’ between the information filed in the Income Tax Return (ITR) vis-a-vis information of specified financial transactions, as available with the department, for the assessment year 2021-22 (FY 2020-21).

The tax department urged taxpayers to access their Annual Information Statement (AIS) through the e-filing portal of the department’s website and review the AIS. If any discrepancies, mismatches or missing information is flagged, update the ITRs (ITR-U). So, what is this Annual Information Statement? How can it be accessed and how to correct the errors in AIS?

What is an Annual Information Statement?

The Annual Information Statement—introduced in November 2021— gives taxpayers a single comprehensive statement on all their financial transactions done in a financial year. The statement is available in the income tax portal and includes financial transactions reported by banks, RTOs, stock exchanges, etc, with the Income Tax Department.

Annual Information Statement is divided into two parts: Part A (General Information of the taxpayer) and Part B (TDS/TCS Information)

Part A: This part of AIS contains the taxpayer’s general information, including his name, PAN, masked Aadhaar number, date of birth, mobile number, e-mail ID, address, etc. 

Part B: This part of AIS contains the taxpayer’s financial transaction information, including tax deducted at source (TDS), tax collected at source (TCS), specified financial transactions (SFTs), payment of taxes, demand and refund, gains from other sources like lottery, crossword puzzle or horse race etc, receipt of accumulated balance from provident fund (PF), interest from bonds, government securities, offshore fund, shares of Indian companies, insurance commission etc.

The key objective of an Annual Information Statement is to enable the seamless filing of income tax returns (ITR) for taxpayers, promote voluntary compliance and, most importantly, deter non-compliance.

How to access the Annual Information Statement?

To access the Annual Information Statement, the taxpayers should log in to the I-T e-filing website www.incometax.gov.in and follow the following steps: 

OR 

How to correct errors in the Annual Information Statement

Taxpayers who feel that the information reflected in AIS for the given assessment year is not inaccurate can submit a corrected response. The statement can be evaluated for all entries, including personal information and financial transactions.

Steps to correct the error in the Annual Information Statement: 

  • Login to the new Income tax e-filing portal incometax.gov.in
  • Select ‘Annual Information Statement (AIS)’ under the ‘Services tab’
  • A new window will pop up, giving two options: Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) and Annual Information Statement (AIS)
  • Click on the AIS
  • A new window will pop up, and you will see Part A and Part B of the AIS 
  • Now, select the information which is not correct
  • Select ‘Optional’ to submit your feedback
  • There will be seven options available to you. Select the option applicable from the drop-down menu
  • Now, click on Submit

As soon as taxpayers submit feedback, the status is updated in real time.

  1. FAQs on AIS (Annual Information Statement)

Q-1 What is Annual Information Statement (AIS)?

Annual Information Statement (AIS) is comprehensive view of information for a taxpayer displayed in Form 26AS. Taxpayer can provide feedback on information displayed in AIS. AIS shows both reported value and modified value (i.e. value after considering taxpayer feedback) under each section (i.e. TDS, SFT, Other information).

The objectives of AIS are:

  • Displays complete information to the taxpayer with a facility to capture online feedback
  • Promotes voluntary compliance and enable seamless prefilling of return
  • Deters non-compliance

For more information, navigate to AIS under e-File/AIS menu after login.

Q-2 What is the difference between AIS and Form 26AS?

AIS is the extension of Form 26AS. Form 26AS displays details of property purchases, high-value investments, and TDS/TCS transactions carried out during the financial year. AIS additionally includes savings account interest, dividend, rent received, purchase and sale transactions of securities/immovable properties, foreign remittances, interest on deposits, GST turnover etc. 

AIS also provides the taxpayer the option to give feedback on the transactions reported. Further, the aggregation of transactions on information source level is also reported in TIS.

For more information, navigate to AIS under e-File/AIS menu after login.

Q-3 How can I view the Annual Information Statement?

You can access the Annual Information Statement functionality by following below mentioned steps: 

  • Step 1: Login to URL https://www.incometax.gov.in/.
  • Step 2: After login, click Annual Information Statement (AIS) menu on dashboard.
  • Step 3: Click on Proceed button which will redirect to AIS portal and click on AIS tile to view the Annual Information Statement.

Alternatively,

  • Step 1: Login to URL https://www.incometax.gov.in/.
  • Step 2: After login, click e-File menu.
  • Step 3: Click on Income Tax Return > View AIS.
  • Step 4: Click on Proceed button which will redirect to AIS portal and click on AIS tile to view the Annual Information Statement.

Q-4 What are the components of Annual Information Statement (AIS)?

The information shown on AIS is divided in two parts:

PART A- General Information

Part A displays general information pertaining to you, including PAN, Masked Aadhar Number, Name of the Taxpayer, Date of Birth/ Incorporation/ Formation, mobile number, e-mail address and address of Taxpayer.

PART B – TDS/TCS Information

Information related to tax deducted/collected at source is displayed here. The Information code of the TDS/TCS, Information description and Information value is shown.

  • SFT Information: Under this head, information received from reporting entities under Statement of Financial transaction (SFT) is displayed. The SFT code, Information description and Information value is made available.
  • Payment of Taxes: Information relating to payment of taxes under different heads, such as Advance Tax and Self-Assessment Tax is shown. 
  • Demand and Refund: You will be able to view the details of the demand raised and refund initiated (AY and amount) during a financial year. (Details related to Demand will be released soon).
  • Other Information: Details of the information received from the other sources, such as data pertaining to Annexure II salary, Interest on refund, Outward Foreign Remittance/Purchase of Foreign Currency etc. is displayed here.

For more information, navigate to AIS under e-File/AIS menu after login.

Q-5 What does General information part contain under AIS?

General information displays the general information pertaining to you, including PAN, Masked Aadhar Number, Name of the Taxpayer, Date of Birth/ Incorporation/ Formation, mobile number, e-mail address and address of Taxpayer.

For more information, navigate to AIS under e-File/AIS menu after login.

Q-6 Can I track the activity history in AIS?

Yes, you can track the activity history in AIS by clicking on the Activity History button on AIS homepage. You will be provided a summary view of activity performed on the AIS functionality. System generated ID (Activity ID) will be created for each performed activity, and the Activity date, Activity description and detail will be displayed under this tab.

For more information, navigate to AIS under e-File/AIS menu after login.

Q-7 What does Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) contain under AIS?

Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) is an information category wise aggregated information summary for a taxpayer. It shows processed value (i.e. value generated after deduplication of information based on pre-defined rules) and derived value (i.e. value derived after considering the taxpayer feedback and processed value) under each information category (e.g. Salary, Interest, Dividend etc.). The derived information in TIS will be used for pre-filling of return, if applicable.

You will be shown various details within the Taxpayer Information Summary such as,

  • Information Category
  • Processed Value
  • Derived Value

Further, within an Information Category, following information is shown:

  • Part through which information received
  • Information Description
  • Information Source
  • Amount Description
  • Amount (Reported, Processed, Derived)

For more information, navigate to AIS under e-File/AIS menu after login.

Q-8 In what all formats can I download my AIS?

You can download Annual Information Statement (AIS) in PDF, JSON, CSV file formats.

Q-9 How do I submit feedback on the information?

You can submit feedback on active information displayed under TDS/TCS Information, SFT Information or Other information by following below mentioned steps: 

  • Step 1: Click on Optional button mentioned in the Feedback column for relevant information. You will be directed to Add Feedback screen.
  • Step 2: Choose the relevant feedback option and enter the feedback details (dependent on feedback option).
  • Step 3: Click Submit to submit the feedback

For more information, navigate to AIS under e-File/AIS menu after login.

Q-10 What will happen once I submit the feedback?

Upon successful submission of feedback on AIS information, the feedback will be displayed with the information and the modified value of the information will also be visible with the reported value. The activity history tab will also be updated, and you will be able to download Acknowledgement Receipt. Email and SMS confirmations for submission of feedback will also be sent.

For more information, navigate to AIS under e-File/AIS menu after login.

Q-11 Would I get any confirmation on submission of AIS feedback?

Yes, after successful submission of your feedback on AIS information, the activity history tab will be updated, and you will be able to download Acknowledgement Receipt of the same. Email and SMS confirmations for submission of feedback will also be sent.

Q-12 What is AIS Consolidated Feedback file?

AIS Consolidated Feedback file (ACF) gives the taxpayers a facility to view all their AIS feedback (other than feedback, ‘Information is correct’) related information in one pdf for easy understanding. After submitting the feedback of the AIS, you can download the AIS consolidated feedback file (PDF). 

For more information, navigate to AIS under e-File/AIS menu after login.

Q-13 Is there any limit on the number of times I can modify a given feedback?

Currently, there is no limit on the number of times you can modify previously given feedbacks.

Q-14 Can I verify the GST turnover in AIS?

Yes, AIS does display the information related to GST turnover under information code (EXC-GSTR3B). The same would be visible in the Other Information tab in AIS.

Q-15 Is there any video tutorial available for AIS?

Yes, there is an informational video available on YouTube for AIS. This video can be accessed here.

Govt sends targeted mails to 4.4 million taxpayers over large discrepancies

The government sent about 4.4 million “targeted” emails to people who had “wide gaps” in the transactions on their accounts and the income they disclosed during last year’s tax filing cycle

The government sent about 4.4 million “targeted” emails to people who had “wide gaps” in the transactions on their accounts and the income they disclosed during last year’s tax filing cycle, a senior official has said, the first time the income tax department delivered forewarnings to help people avoid being sent a tax notice.

The email were sent over the tax returns filed during the 2023-24 assessment year, which pertained to people’s incomes in the 2022-23 financial year.

“These emails are targeted at large discrepancies and not small ones,” Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Nitin Gupta said.

The email has a simple message pointing out that the taxpayer’s income as shown in his or her return is not commensurate with the return income filed with the income tax department, hence the assessee needs to file a revised return, Gupta said. CBDT, an arm of the Union finance ministry, is responsible for administration of direct taxes, including the income tax.

The first deadline to file a return is usually July 31 and people have time to file revised returns till December 31. Those who missed filing their original returns by July 31 could also do so by December 31 by paying a penalty of up to ₹5,000.

According to experts, a tax notice is more stringent and may lead to a scrutiny and penalties calculated as a proportion of the pending due.

Gupta described the email cautioning system as in step with the government’s ‘ease of doing business’ and ‘ease of living’ initiatives. He said the department is lenient on unintended lapses by taxpayers and prompts them regarding unintentional omissions of any income while reporting to the department.

The chairman said there are also cases of non-compliance due to lack of awareness, but there are other types of cases, which are deliberate and fall in the category of tax evasion.

On cases where people do not disclose their income deliberately, there is “enforcement actions we do take, which are giving us good results”, Gupta said.

The e-mails, he explained, were for a third category.

“There is one more category, which is slightly different from these two, is that the taxpayer is filing return, but income therein is not commensurate to the financial transactions the taxpayer has undertaken. For example, purchase of a property, financial transactions of securities or mutual funds. For such cases, we are also applying two methodologies, one is, e-verification scheme. Where, for the old cases, we put the differential… and request him to give explanation/response to that,” he said adding that extreme cases could be picked up for scrutiny.

“We sent out targeted e-mails for the assessment year 2023-24, before the last date for filing the revised returns, so that the tax payers could file revised returns.”

Gupta said ease of compliance and use of technology have made the taxation system transparent and efficient, and has checked evasions significantly, which helped the government mop up high direct tax revenue.

Robust tax collections prompted the finance minister to raise CBDT’s target from ₹18,23,250 crore ( ₹9,22,675 crore in corporate income tax or CIT, and ₹9,00,575 crore personal income tax or PIT) in 2023-24 BE (budget estimate) to ₹19,45,000 crore in 2023-24 RE ( ₹9,22,675 crore CIT and ₹10,22,325 crore PIT).

“We will try to achieve the RE (revised estimate) target as we still have two more months. We don’t know what will be the inflow of advance tax or TDS [tax deducted at source], but we will make an endeavour to achieve this it is achievable,” Gupta said.

He is also confident about the next financial year (FY25), where the BE target for CIT is ₹10,42,830 crore and PIT is ₹11,56,000 crore. The total ₹21,98,830 crore in BE of FY25 is 13% higher than RE 2023-24 and over 20.5% more as compared to BE of FY24.

“It is realistic and achievable,” Gupta said while pointing at robust GDP growth. Despite global headwinds such as conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and the Red Sea trade disruption, India’s first advance estimates of growth released on January 5 projected a higher-than-expected GDP growth of 7.3% in FY24. A finance ministry report released two days before the interim budget said India will remain fastest growing major economy in 2024-25 with real GDP growth likely be closer to 7%.