I-T Dept Targets Doubling Number Of Returns By 2000

The income-tax (I-T) department has set itself a target of doubling the number of returns to 2.5 crore by the end of 2000, I-T officials said.

In order to accomplish this, the department is targeting an annual 30 per cent increase in the number of returns filed.

According to officials, the number of returns filed during the current fiscal has grown by 20 per cent. 40 lakh new returns are required to be filed this year to meet the 30 per cent target.

Officials are of the opinion that the current drive of using the new economic criteria (form 2C scheme) for widening the tax net and the recently expired Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme are proving to be effective vehicles to motivate tax payers to file normal returns, although declarations under these two schemes does not constitute filing returns in the normal sense.

 

A tax official said, we do not expect any significant collection on the basis of the form 2C scheme as it basically pertains to persons drawing income below the taxable limit. However, this is also a golden opportunity for people who draw taxable income, but have not filed returns.

It has been pointed out that this exercise, along with the VDIS, provides the I-T department with the basic data bank to meet its objective. The department is in the midst of a massive computerisation drive for storing data, which is coincidental with widening the tax base.

Besides, these four indices possession of a house of a specified size, a telephone, a four-wheeler vehicle and foreign travel the departments investigation wing is collecting information from various government and private agencies to boost its data bank and account for the actual income of persons.

Persons required to file form 2C under proviso (2) Section 139 of the Income-Tax Act need not have any taxable income, but will have to file returns if they fulfil two of the four indices.

The scheme is applicable to residents of 12 Indian cities only.

This scheme, which closes on February 28, is hard on retired persons coming under the scheme, despite not having a taxable income.