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Admitting that many Income Tax refunds were still pending, the I-T Department decided to “clean up the mismatched TDS database” due to which the refunds were held up. An I-T Department release said, “The Income Tax Department has taken the initiative to clean up the mismatched TDS data base. Many refunds are pending with the IT Department due to the mismatch of tax paid by the assessee, but the same is not being reflected in the computer software of the department.”

The release said that the department is concerned about the same as the problem has risen either due to wrong PAN numbers mentioned by assesses while paying tax or wrong PAN number mentioned by the deductor while deducting the TDS of the deductee.

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0 Comments

  1. Tyudib says:

    Sir, I have earlier given some comments on today’s (26th June) news on “Income Tax department will soon launch Internet-based grievance redressal system for taxpayers ”
    In the context of the above comments, I think my comments on that topic is relevant here also. So reproduced.

    “Tyudib Says:
    June 27th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
    With reference to the critical comments (out of 19 in all till today) on “I-T Department decided to “clean up the mismatched TDS database” and issue income tax refunds” in Taxguru of 24 June, it is very important that the Government has thus accepted that the system of IT Ombudsman has TOTALLY FAILED and is a huge fraud on the country’s exchequer. Going by the conduct of these retired “Daily wager civil servants” and the manner in which they handle grievances, particularly the present Delhi Ombudsman, there is no doubt that these people remain typical clerks devoid of any culture of Civil Service and are as usual interested to enjoy every thing for free. They do NOT attend office, they refuse to entertain aggrieved tax payers, they are afraid to take up cudgels with the ITOs (for obvious reasons), and for every thing, they ask the petitioners to approach the ITOs only.

    Then, in this latest context, why should the government continue to provide for these incompetent, inefficient and unwilling retired civil servants at fat salaries? This office must immediately be closed.”

  2. Vinod Kumar Prem says:

    We proudly say that our country is providing IT services to Developed Countries but fail in our own front. It has been two years now that the refund of tax is still pending with IT Deptt. I don’t know if any body is serious enough to plug the loophole and set the system right.
    Shame on IT Deptt.

  3. Y V S T SAI says:

    Dear Friends,

    Happy to note that my response to some of the comments on TDS mismatch invoked good response. After going through all the comments, I would like to state the following:

    1. I made comments only on TDS mismatch. Therefore, I never made any sweeping statement that assessees are only to be responsible for the fault. However, the fact remains that there is no fault in the software and mismatch is purely a problem in TDS returns filed by deductors.
    2. Regarding corruption, I request all of you to appreciate that there are honest and dishonest people everywhere including the I.T Department. I am proud to say that there are many upright and honest people in the Department who are toiling day and night to provide service to the people and nation. I am proud to work with such people in the Department.
    3. If someone demands bribe for refund, please lodge a complaint with the higher authorities or CBI. All of us (assessees, Departmental persons and professionals of tax bar) have to work hand in hand to eradicate corruption. There is no point in making statements that corruption is a fact of life or it is regular business at so and so place. Better option would be continuous fight on specific instances.
    4. Lastly, I request you to appreciate that in a transition situation there would be temporary problems. Once CPC starts fully functioning most of the problems (like instances of bribes quoted) would disappear and kindly appreciate the fact that the I.T Department is trying its best to provide corruption free and transparent service. We hope for a day when a taxpayer need not visit anyone or beg any one for a refund. He shall get the refund right at his home in the fastest time. This shall be the endeavour of all the stakeholders.

  4. Officer says:

    Moreover, this problem of TDS mismatch is there in e-filed returns as well, with equal prominence, where there is no possibility of manual entry of any data.

  5. Officer says:

    It is absolutely misplaced to attribute corruption for mismatch of TDS credits. TDS credits are because of systemic failure of the AST software as well as because of the mistakes of deductors and deductees. This is a fact. Retired employee is not having the correct knowledge of the problem. Agreed that corruption is a big problem, but please, TDS credit mismatch is not because of that!!

  6. S Subramanian says:

    The gravity of the problem is felt mostly in the case of assessees who are termed as contractors for the purpose of TDS provisions, and whose receipts are subjected to TDS by the persons who avail their services.

    For example, in the case of a dyeing factory or other processing house in the garment industry, it is common for the units to have more than a hundred instances of tax deduction and to collect the information about all such deductions and prepare the return of income in such cases itself is a herculean task.

    Deductees who have to get refunds to the tune of Rs. 5,000/- and less are not interested in pursuing the refund since the effort is not worth the trouble.

    In other cases, the fault mostly lies with the deductor rather than the deductees. But the one who suffers is only the deductee whose refund is withheld for the failure of the deductor.

    The problem can be mitigated to a large extent if the obligation to deduct can be dispensed with in the case of assessees who furnish their PAN – a measure already implemented by the Department in the case of payments to transport operators.

    This measure will substantially reduce the workload in the Department in matching the TDS payments. The need to refund the TDS will also be minimum since the number of claim for refund will get reduced to a fraction of the present number.

    The problem mainly is due to the excessive importance given for TDS. It can not be the intention of the Government is to profit from unclaimed refunds.

  7. A RETD. IT EMPLOYEE says:

    With reference to the criticism of as well as the enlightenment provided Mr. Y V S T Sai, I would beg to submit that four decades in a department are not all that irrelevant. And, as an ancient mariner of that department, what this retired employee wrote is not untrue. Mr. Sai has overlooked the point that, entries into the computer are fed manually on the basis of the details contained in the IT Returns, filled in hand by assessees. That being so, even today, in the great regime of the OLTAS and AST, there is no one to check the officials from altering “P” into “R”, or “O” into “Q”, or “I” into “J”/”L”/”P”/”R”, “F” into “E”, “K” into “R”, or, “1” into “4”/”7″/”9″, “3” into “5”/”8″/”9″, “6” into “8”, “9” into “3” …and so on. And, whiteners are freely available too.

    Assessees keep a copy of the ITR before it is filed-once it is filed, there is no way one can stop overwriting, mutilating, etc., done in the IT offices and that is what is going on on a rampant basis for over 7-8 years in Delhi’s Mayur Bhavan, CR Bldg., etc. and no doubt in all offices all over the country, without the knowledge of the hapless salaried people, retired old people-the so called senior citizens-, ladies, small shopkeepers, etc.

    If the CBI makes a random check on any day of the huge unattended applications for adjustments, refunds, rectification, etc., a most illuminating aspect of corrupt practices will come to light. And, Mayur Bhavan is enough as the basis for a sample survey.

    I hope, the learned Mr. Y V S T Sai will be able to appreciate that the compulsively corrupt and the dishonest at even the highest levels of bureaucracy always find ways to make hay while the sun shines-and the lower ranks merely follow as foot soldiers in all earnestness.

  8. AV Rao says:

    Y VS T SAI (appears to be some I T Department person)makes a sweeping statement that fault lies with assessees, as if assessees are not interested in getting refunds.
    I know of deliberate with holding and misplacing of documents by IT staff purely for want of assessee visiting them and bribe them. It is open secret.

  9. satyanarayan says:

    Its very easy to blame assessees for not providing the proper details, but its now really the time where IT dept has to look deeper.It is a good step taken by I.T.Deptt. at the same time they should also release such refunds where there is no mismatching except lazyness on the part of officials.I have also same problem with IT Dept.

  10. P HANUMANTHA RAO FCA HYD says:

    Respected Y.V.S.T Sai Garu
    The issues raised by retired employees is not correct. But the problem really lies in filing the TDS returns only.Now the TDS wing is raising demands due to mismatch of TDS with challans for the Asst year 2007-08. These are all being rectified by filing revised TDS returns.But rectifying all the TDS returns for all the years to date will take lot of time and waiting for TDS refunds up to that time will cause great hardship to the Assesses especially those living on agency commissions, interest and also SMEs. Hence this matter should have been taken up with CBDT long back. At last now it is realised and decision taken to sort out this. It is also requested, the controlling officers should bring to the notice of CBDT such issues and help the asessees. In my opinion IT dept is the only one among several depts which issues refunds with out causing much hardship to the stake holders. Refunds will infuse great confidence on the Dept as well as GOI. An other area of concern is with, the refunds by ECS, giving wrong A/c Nos, MICR codes, the concerned Bank’s soft ware problems, non availability of latest position of the refunds even after release of refund by the AOs to Mumbai. At least for some more time i.e, up to the time of settling all the issues from deductors, deductees and the dept, it would be better to continue the practice of issuing refunds by of cheques clearly mentioning the account Nos and after taking other necessary precautions.This will enhance the reputation of the dept,since the officials are bearing the brunt from public and for any small issue they are attribute motives.

  11. Ravishankar says:

    I agree that refunds are pending for those assessees who failed to write proper Pan and Tan, but is it the all. There are so many cases where everything is written and submitted correct still refunds are not given, why??????????
    Its very easy to blame assessees for not providing the proper details, but its now really the time where IT dept has to look deeper.

  12. ASHOK DADHWAL says:

    Good step indeed. Taxpayers have been waiting over two years for refunds of TDS. The delay is a financial burden on the exchequer as very high rate of interest is payable on the refunds. Spread of Income Tax knowledge is the only remedy but a difficult task indeed. Both assesses and deductors are to blame but they too are innocent in the absence of knowledge of tax laws. The problem is not so simple and easy to tackle. The weapon of knowledge is the only savior.

  13. vijayachandran says:

    There are so many cases where the deductors fail to upload the quarterly e-TDS returns and many cases of furnishing incorrect PANs resulting in mismatches. I wonder why there is a tendency to blame the officials without inquiring into the real cause. The technology appears more or less flawless. But the non-comliance of the provisions of the sections governing the TDS is the real cause.

  14. Y V S T Sai says:

    The retired employees (why name is not given) who writes that the Departmental personnel are deliberately doing mischief does not understand the fact that I.T Department moved over to OLTAS and AST packages where there is no scope for writing PAN numbers let alone wrong numbers. The departmental sofware is also not faulty. The fault lies with the assessees who do not furnish PAN numbers to the deductors and also with the deductors who do not file returns or remit amounts to Government. Mismatch in TDS due to the above problems. Tax deductors and deductees must furnish correct details at the time of deduction and filing TDS returns. The Department is trying its best to provide quality service to the taxpayers in this regard.

  15. SAIBARATH says:

    The I.T has refunded less, for no fault of the assessee. The Form 16 – 16A issued by the deductor is final, as far as the assessee is concerned. If there is a mismatch, non availability of PAN in the TDS return, is it the fault of the assessee.

  16. Noshir C.A. says:

    It is all deliberate for reasons well known, which is mainly non accountability of staff. Make the staff accountable in a timebound manner and everything will be fine. However the will is lacking and we will go on hearing about the Press Statements actually meaning nothing.

  17. Umed Mehta says:

    Eventhough the IT Department has admitted the faulty software but the officials even after submitting to them the TDS certificate do not respond and sleep over it. My three refunds have been made partially and I have written to the concerned officer to rectify the same as the the TDS returns have been rectified by the deducee, but no response.

  18. CA J L Thakkar says:

    Almost in all cases, refunds (arising from TDS) have been detained. And in spite of funishing original TDS certificates, refunds do not arrive. Rampant bribery is the cause and only motive.

  19. CMA. R.LGARG - FICWA says:

    it is a good step taken by I.T.Deptt. at the same time they should also release such refunds where there is no mismatching except lazyness on the part of officials

  20. A RETD. IT EMPLOYEE says:

    The explanation given by the Deptt. is, unfortunately, far from true. In actual practice, and in 99% cases, the departmental officials themselves are deliberately overwriting on the PAN and TAN provided in the Returns by the assessees with the ulterior motive of compelling the latter to run to the department and paying bribes. And that is why the Ombudsman in Delhi is advising assessees to approach the ITOs direct and “closing” the petitions before him. The intention of the FM and MOS is very honest but not so of the deptt.

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