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Not all taxpayers need to file AIR
November 01, 2004 14:30 IST
There's some confusion and a lot of fear in the minds of income tax payers over the annual information return which will record high value transactions above Rs 50,000.
This means if you buy anything of high value you will have to keep a record of it and attach it along with your next income tax return.
But Finance Minister P Chidambaram has tried to clear some of the fog on the issue stating that every income tax payer need not maintain accounts of his spending above Rs 50,000 and file an AIR of high-value expenses.
He said that there is no provision in the Budget for such a return to be filed by all those whose spendings go beyond Rs 50,000 annually.
However, some assesses and government bodies, who are responsible for registering or recording financial transactions under law, will have to furnish the AIR for transactions aggregating or exceeding Rs 50,000 in a year.
The Section 285-BA of the Income Tax Act, which was substituted by the Finance Act 2004, states that the AIR should be filed for expenses above Rs 50,000 annually.
But the finance minister has said that this section does not mean that every assessee has to maintain a record of his expenditure beyond Rs 50,000. The Central Board of Direct Taxes, however, has not yet framed any guidelines for the implementation of this scheme.