Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) Tuesday asked all its employees, who “claimed any bogus deductions or refunds”, to update their lncome Tax Returns (lTR-U) on or before March 31, 2023 to evade “200 percent of the tax levied” as penalty or prosecution under Income Tax Act.
Direction has been issued taking stringent note of cases of fraudulent claims or bogus refunds under the IT Act by many police officers and officials (among a huge number of individual taxpayers) in Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for the Financial Years 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Additional Director General of Police Headquarters PHQ, J&K, Jammu M K Sinha in circular instructions has cautioned such employees that the Income Tax Department will select their cases for scrutiny and will make recoveries besides “levy of penalty under section 270A of the lncome Tax, which would be 200 percent of the tax levied.”
“The cases of such employees may also be taken up for prosecution under section 276C of the IT Act,” he has warned, while guiding them to take benefit of “limited window in the form of ITR-U” available under the Income Tax Act under Section 139(8A) to escape penalty or prosecution.
ITR-U (Indian Income Tax Updated Return) is a form which allows the taxpayers to update income within twenty-four months from the end of the relevant assessment year.
“The lncome Tax Act provides a limited window in the shape of ITR-U under section 139(8A) which provides that the taxpayers can update their returns of income by paying their actual due tax along with penalty which is at the rate of 50 percent of additional tax plus interest for Financial Year 2019-20 (Assessment Year 2020-21) and at the rate of 25 percent for Financial Year 2020-21 (Assessment Year 2021-22), if the ITR-U are filed before March 31, 2023,” Sinha mentioned.
Revelations about fraudulent claims came to the fore during analyses by lncome Tax Department to the refunds issued in (lTR) FY 2021-22 and 2022-23 in respect of the lncome Tax Returns filed by the taxpayers of Jammu & Kashmir, Sinha pointed out.
“It has been revealed that huge number of individuaI taxpayers, particularly those who derive income from salaries and which includes many police officers and officials have claimed excessive deductions or refunds under various sections of the lncome Tax Act viz., 80C, 80D, 80D0, 80DDB, 80E8, 80E, 80EE, 80G, 80GGC etc., without actually being eligible for the same,” he stated.
ADGP Sinha mentioned that the data of every individual taxpayer had been analyzed by the Director General of lncome Tax (Systems) and cases of fraudulent claims or bogus refunds were selected for scrutiny from which fraudulent claims of deductions or refunds under the IT Act came to light.
ADGP specified that lncome Tax Department was having a list of all persons who claimed excessive or bogus deductions and refunds on TDS made by their DD0s.
“lt is a matter of grave concern that a large number of employees belonging to JKP also figure in the list. Such cases of bogus refunds may lead to selection of their cases for scrutiny and recoveries will be made by IT Department besides levy of penalty under section 270A of the lncome Tax, which would be 200 percent of the tax levied. The cases of such employees may also be taken up for prosecution under section 276C of the IT Act,” he cautioned, while referring to ITR-U available under Section 139(8A) of IT Act.
“Keeping in view the sensitivity and urgency of the matter, all the Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DD0s) of J&K Police are enjoined to direct all the officers and officials under their charge to update their lncome Tax Returns (lTR-U) on or before March 31, 2023, if they have claimed any bogus deductions/refunds failing which action under rules as mentioned above shall be taken against them by lT Department,” ADGP warned.
He clarified that the circular instructions were issued with the approval of DGP, J&K.
Official sources maintain that besides JKP officers/officials, several J&K government employees of Tourism, Education, Cooperatives, Jal Shakti, PWD, PDD, Industry, Health and Sports Departments also figure in the list of those individual taxpayers, who claimed bogus deductions or refunds.
“This serious issue was brought to the notice of the Chief Secretary by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax Srinagar,” they informed Greater Kashmir.