Income Tax Returns Confusion

For assessment year 2007-08, income-tax (I-T) returns have to be filed by 31 July in most cases. And it is compulsory to file the returns on the new I-T return form. There are eight types of forms prescribed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for different categories of taxpayers. The following is the list of some of the important items on which the board should come out with clarifications so that taxpayers have no problem filing their returns in the new forms.


1. Return Form No. 1 is for salaried employees having salary and interest income. If a person has salary income and he makes payments for house loan interest, which return form should he use?

2. Payment of residential house interest enjoys a tax deduction of up to Rs1.5 lakh. The I-T return form envisages no enclosure with the return form. Whereas Section 24 clearly states that this deduction would not be permissible unless the assessee furnishes a certificate from the person to whom any interest is payable on the capital borrowed, specifying the amount of interest payable by the assessee. What should be done in this situation?

3. During the year, if the assessee has more than one item of short-term or long-term capital gains, then how should the details be mentioned in Form No. 2 or 3 or 4, particularly when no enclosure is to be made with the I-T return form?

4. In case of tax deducted at source, what is the procedure if the deductor has not provided the employee’s tax deduction account number (TAN) despite repeated
reminders? How should the employee fill up schedule TDS–1 and schedule TDS-2?

5. Is the facility of electronic filing of I-T return available at the I-T office? If yes, what are the charges for using the facility? If no, the CBDT should issue a list of places where I-T returns can be filed electronically.

6. Schedule AIR requires taxpayers to give information of transactions reported through an annual information return. The table appearing in rule 114E contains a list of items with class of persons and the nature and value of transactions which are to be reported in AIR. For example, mutual fund exceeding Rs2 lakh and purchase and sale of properties exceeding Rs30 lakh is to be reported for AIR. How should the return form be filled, especially when, say, a person has invested Rs1.9 lakh in one mutual fund, redeemed it after two months and further invested Rs1.9 lakh in another mutual fund? The total investments in a year in mutual funds by this taxpayer is Rs3.8 lakh, but the transactions will not figure in the AIR returns to be submitted by the mutual funds because the amount invested on each occasion was less than Rs2 lakh.

7. In schedule AIR, details have to be given of each code of transaction reported in AIR. Again, enclosures cannot be made with the return.