Income tax payers, who have filed their returns but are yet to pay the entire self-assessed tax, may face penal action if their dues remain unpaid after March 31.
On the basis of the returns filed electronically during the current fiscal, the Income-Tax Department has identified 73,388 assessees who have defaulted on self-assessment tax aggregating Rs 3,859 crore.
The Department has urged all such taxpayers “to immediately come forward and pay the due taxes before March 31, 2013.”
Further, any taxpayer who files his return in the future, and on self-assessment indicates a certain amount of tax payable, should pay such tax while filing the return, the department said.
The Income-tax Act requires that tax payable on the returned income, after taking into account pre-paid taxes, should be paid before the returns are furnished. Filing a return without paying the admitted amount of tax payable will render such a taxpayer an ‘assessee in default’ under the provisions of the Act.
“Such taxpayers who default in payment of self-assessment tax may invite penal consequences,” the department said.
The Revenue Department is making efforts to collect each and every rupee that is due, as tax collection has been below the Budget estimate this fiscal.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had said, “The best case I can make out is tell people ‘please don’t hide your income.’ Just admit your income and pay tax and be a proud citizen.”
The Finance Ministry has already ruled out any amnesty scheme. The Department is estimated to collect Rs 6.68 lakh crore through personal income tax, corporate tax and wealth tax (constituting direct tax) during 2013-14, which is over 17 per cent higher than the Budget estimate of 2012-13.
Although it has lowered its estimate for direct tax collection in the current fiscal, it is hopeful of good growth, with the economy picking up next fiscal.
The Tax Department is tapping each and every source of revenue to achieve the Rs 5.65 lakh crore mop-up target under the direct taxes category for this fiscal, which ends on March 31.To check evasion, the Government has already sent 35,000 notices to taxpayers who have not been filing returns and a similar number of notices are in process of being issued.