Kerala: Income tax department gears up for tight scrutiny of spending

Thiruvananthapuram: The income tax officials in the state are gearing up to strictly enforce a fresh norm that mandates commercial institutions and even hospitals to furnish the details of all cash transactions above Rs 2 lakh by individuals at commercial institutions and even hospitals. Though the fresh norm under section 285BA of the Income Tax Act came into effect from this fiscal, so far it has not been strictly complied with. The payment of bills at hospitals, hotels, jewellery shops, clubs and auditoriums are among the transactions that would come under the scanner.

The institutions that fail to inform the I-T department about transactions above Rs 2 lakh could even attract penal action. “We are in the process of sensitising the institutions about the new provision,” said an I-T official. Many institutions cited practical difficulties in complying with the norms, especially in identifying all the transactions made by a person during a financial year. Meanwhile, a top official of a leading private hospital said that they were in the process of complying with the norms. “We are making the customers aware of the new provisions and also encouraging payments by cards, bank transfer or demand draft,” he said.

Apart from the cash payment exceeding Rs 2 lakh for the sale of goods or services, purchase or sale of immovable property for an amount of Rs 30 lakh or more should also be reported to the I-T authority by the registration department. Permanent Account Number has to be mentioned in such transactions and in case PAN is not available, a declaration has to be given by the payer. The details of transactions between April and September must be furnished to the I-T authorities by October and that of transactions between October and March by May, I-T sources said.