Tag Archives: Income Tax

CBDT issues new guidelines, help decriminalisation of offences

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Sep 17 (IANS) Aiming decriminalisation of offences, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Saturday issued revised guidelines for compounding of offences under the Income Tax Act, 1961 with reference to various offences covered under its prosecution provisions.

Some of the major changes made for the benefit of taxpayers include making the offence punishable under Section 276 of the Act as compoundable. Further, the scope of eligibility for compounding of cases has been relaxed whereby the case of an applicant who has been convicted with imprisonment for less than 2 years being previously non-compoundable, has now been made compoundable. The discretion available with the competent authority has also been suitably restricted.

CBDT /Ians

As per the department, the time limit for acceptance of compounding applications has been relaxed from the earlier limit of 24 months to 36 months now, from the date of filing of the complaint. Besides, procedural complexities have also been reduced and simplified.

Officials said that specific upper limits have been introduced for the compounding fee covering defaults across several provisions of the Act. Additional compounding charges in the nature of penal interest at the rate of 2 per cent per month up to 3 months and 3 per cent per month beyond 3 months have been reduced to 1 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively.

 

Beware of cash payments at hospitals, you may come under Income-Tax radar

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The Income Tax department is scanning all the transactions at hospitals wherre the bills are paid in cash as it violates banking protocol and amounts to tax evasion.

The I-T sleuths have decided to monitor cash transactions at hospitals, banquet halls and businesses in a recent move to prevent tax evasion. As per the rule, any cash transaction above Rs. 20,000 in cash will be under scanner and lands you in trouble. Whether collecting hand loans or investment in cash is prohibited under the law and all such transactions should be routed via banks and accounted for.

To begin with, the department is currently scanning the hospitals and patients who have paid significant sums of money to private medical institutions. Hospitals or political parties and religious institutions cannot accept a total cash payment of Rs. 2 lakh or more from another person and they are not eligible for a tax deduction.


The department is also brining under its radar such professions or businesses where cash payments are made. In health care, PAN card details are to be duly recorded upon patient’s admission. Several health care facilities have periodically ignored this rule, the department officials told media sources.

Banquets, high-end market places and architects are under scanner currently for tax evasion, while others will soon be brough under the net based. Once concrete evidence is established, the I-T department is likely to send them notices. Most of these cash transactions are prevalent in small towns where the I-T departments’ limited presence is giving the idea that its tax net is not wide spread.