24/12/2018
IndiaToday.in
New Delhi
December 23, 2018 UPDATED: December 23, 2018 17:24 IST
*Income Tax return filing*
Frustrated by increasing number of fraudulent tax filings, The department has now set up a *three-member committee to deal with issues related to high-pitched tax assessments*
Fraudulent individuals encourage taxpayers to claim refunds based on *fabricated investments*
The committee will be responsible for assessing whether a tax claim is high-pitched or clean
The Income Tax department has decided to introduce measures for conducting additional checks to prevent any outgo towards bogus or frivolous investment claims made by individuals in their tax returns filing.
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Sushil Chandra said many people are furnishing false investment claims under Section 80(C) of the Income Tax Act a person can claim tax deductions to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh under the section.
Chandra said the department has now set up a three-member committee to deal with issues related to high-pitched assessments a situation where irrational tax demands have been flagged by a tax officer.
Frustrated by increasing number of fraudulent tax filings, Chandra said it was time people changed "their mentality" and paid their share of taxes honestly.
*Why the additional layer*
Over the past few months, investigations conducted by the department in Mumbai, Bengaluru and certain parts of Punjab revealed that some fraudulent individuals were encouraging taxpayers to claim refunds based on *fabricated investments under Section 80(C)* towards housing loans.
While addressing an industry event in New Delhi, Chandra said, When we took that risk parameter, we found that many refunds of the same pattern were being filed from one IP address. So we have put another risk parameter into our system that if some fraudulent return is being filed then that refund has to be stopped.
*Redressal committee*
Apart from acting as an extra layer of security, the three-member committee will also be responsible for assessing whether a tax claim is high-pitched or clean.
Chandra said many people have approached the department claiming that their tax assessments were very high-pitched.
If you feel that your assessment is high-pitched, you can approach the committee," he said.
The committee, after conducting a scrutiny test, will decide whether the investment declared is high-pitched.
(With inputs from PTI)
