CBDT has brought new income-tax return form: Is it sahaj or sugam anymore?

New ITR forms indirectly force small businesses to maintain books of accounts, something that wasn't needed earlier

As far as filing of income-tax returns goes, all governments face a twin challenge. On the one hand, they wish to make the process simpler so that more people are encouraged to file returns. On the other, there is also the compulsion to ensure that the tax department has enough and more information to be able to do a proper assessment.

The latest income-tax returns (ITR) forms — Sahaj (ITR-1) and Sugam (ITR-4) — introduced by the Central Board of Direct Taxes seek to tackle both these issues. Consequently, there could be an impression that they aren’t exactly what their