Under the existing provisions of section 139, every person is required to furnish a return of income if his income during the previous year relevant to the assessment year exceeds the maximum amount which is not chargeable to tax. The return of income has to be furnished in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner and setting forth such other particulars as may be prescribed.
It is proposed to amend the provisions of section 139 so that furnishing of return of income under section 139 may be made mandatory for every resident having any asset (including financial interest in any entity) located outside India or signing authority in any account located outside India. Furnishing of return by such a resident would be mandatory irrespective of the fact whether the resident taxpayer has taxable income or not.
This amendment will take effect retrospectively from the 1st day of April, 2012 and will accordingly apply to assessment year 2012-13 and subsequent assessment years.
I have a query on this proposal which I request knowledgeable persons to clarify.
Would this also apply to persons who are in the RNOR category of taxpayers? Thanks.