The Income Tax Department on Monday rolled out a new format for Annual Information Statement (AIS). This can be accessed on the income tax website, www.incometax.gov.in.
The new format will have additional information relating to interest, dividend, securities, transactions, mutual fund transactions, foreign remittance information etc. There will be online feedback system too. “If the taxpayer feels that the information is incorrect, relates to other person/year, duplicate etc., a facility has been provided to submit online feedback. Feedback can also be furnished by submitting multiple information in bulk,” a statement issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said. CBDT is the apex policy making body for Income Tax.
What does TIS show
The board said that the reported value and value after feedback will be shown separately in the AIS. In case the information is modified/denied, the information source may be contacted for confirmation. “A simplified Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) has also been generated for each taxpayer which shows aggregated value for the taxpayer for ease of filing return,” it explained. TIS shows the processed value (i.e. the value generated after de-duplication of information based on pre-defined rules) and derived value (i.e. the value derived after considering the taxpayer feedback and processed value). If the taxpayer submits feedback on AIS, the derived information in TIS will be automatically updated in real time.
“The derived information in TIS will be used for pre-filling of return (pre-filling will be enabled in a phased manner),” CBDT said. It reminded taxpayers that AIS includes information presently available with the Income Tax Department. There may be other transactions relating to the taxpayer which are not presently displayed in AIS. “Taxpayers should check all related information and report complete and accurate information in the income tax return,” the board advised.
In case there is a variation between the TDS/TCS information or the details of tax paid as displayed in Form 26AS on TRACES portal and the TDS/TCS information or the information relating to tax payment as displayed in AIS on compliance portal, the taxpayer may rely on the information displayed on TRACES portal for the purpose of filing of ITR and for other tax compliance purposes.
According to Shailesh Kumar, Partner, Nangia & Co LLP, AIS is expected to be useful to taxpayers in giving details of all the transactions where their PAN is reported by concerned reporting entity and prepare them in advance for necessary discussion with tax authorities. AIS also provides comprehensive information database to the tax authorities regarding transactions undertaken by the taxpayer, at a single place.
“With the recent changes in AIS introduced by the Government, like details of foreign remittances, transactions reported in ITR of other taxpayers, interest on income tax refund, detailed salary break-up, etc., the AIS is definitely expected to be much more comprehensive and information vis-à-vis the existing Form 26AS,” he said.