A three-page income-tax return form, comprising ITR-2 and ITR-2A, will now replace the 14-page form that incited angry protests for its hugely intrusive personal information requirements. The new form details, disclosed by the finance ministry on Sunday, have been widely welcomed as they do away with the contentious requirements of a taxpayer having to give details about his/her dormant bank accounts to the last rupee and details of all foreign trips and money spent. In case of the latter the taxpayer will only have to give the passport number and IFSC code.
With more and more companies employing foreigners, it is a relief that the new forms do not require expatriates and their spouses to give details of their overseas assets in their tax returns here.
There is, however, one point that needs to be changed: the extension given for filing of returns by August 31. Normally the taxpayer gets three months to file returns, but now it is barely two months as the new forms are expected to be ready only by the third week of June. It is the fault of the ministry that it was ham-handed in issuing the contentious forms in May, which then had to be withdrawn. It should have issued a draft of that new form for public discussion in early March since taxes have to be paid for the year ending March 31 and the last date for payment is July 31. Now the taxpayer has been deprived of this time for preparation. It is hoped the finance ministry reconsiders this August 31 deadline.
