The new and comprehensive Form 26AS, which provides taxpayers with certain details used in filing returns, is a form of faceless handhold for them to e-file their income tax returns quickly and correctly, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said on Saturday. The new form would debut this year and carry additional details of taxpayers’ financial transactions as specified statement of financial transactions (SFT) in various categories.
Till last year, the Form 26AS, pertaining to a specific permanent account number (PAN), used to give information regarding tax deducted at source and tax collected at source (TDS/TCS), besides certain additional information, including details of other taxes paid, refunds and TDS defaults. Form this year onwards, it will have SFTs to help taxpayers recall their financial transactions so that they have a ready reckoner to enable filing the ITR, CBDT said.
The board said the Income Tax department had been receiving information like cash deposit/withdrawal from saving bank accounts, sale/purchase of immovable property, time deposits, credit card payments, purchase of shares, debentures, foreign currency, mutual funds, buy back of shares and cash payment for goods and services since financial year 2005-06. “Now all such information under different SFTs will be shown in the Form 26AS,” it said.
“This would help the honest taxpayers with updated financial transactions while filing their returns, whereas it will desist those taxpayers who inadvertently practice concealing of financial transactions in their returns. The Form 26AS would also have information which used to be received up to Financial Year 2015-16 in the Annual Information Returns (AIR) transactions,” it said.
