In a recent Notification No. 49/2010 dated 9 July 2010 (Notification) issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, modifying the permitted modes of filing return of income (ROI) for (i) companies and (ii) individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUF) which are liable for tax audit.
The Notification has come into effect from 9 July 2010. According to the Notification, companies (including foreign companies) which were earlier permitted to file ROI electronically without digital signature are now mandatorily required to file ROI electronically with digital signature for tax year 2009-10 onwards.
Individuals/ HUF liable for tax audit under section 44AB of the Indian Tax Laws (ITL), which earlier had an option to file ROI in either paper form or electronic form, are now mandatorily required to file ROI electronically (with or without digital signature) for tax year 2009-10 onwards.
The Notification curtails the permitted mode of filing ROI for (i) companies (including foreign companies) and (ii) individuals/ HUF which are liable for tax audit.
The ITL requires ROI of companies to be signed and verified by the Managing Director of the company. If there is no Managing Director or for any unavoidable reason the Managing Director is not able to sign and verify the ROI, any Director of the company can comply with the requirement. In case of foreign companies, the ITL permits the return to be signed and verified by a person who holds a valid power of attorney.
The amendment necessitates that the ROI of a company should be uploaded with digital signature. Foreign companies which are required to file ROI would need to note and comply with the new requirement. Incidentally, the compliance with digital signature would reduce the time involved in the process since, under this mode, there is no need to send a signed hard copy of verification to the Tax Authority by post.
Summary of the notification
The Notification amends Rule 12(3) of the Income Tax Rules which prescribes the various modes in which taxpayers are permitted to file ROI.
The permitted modes for filing ROIs for tax year 2009-10 onwards after the amendment are summarized in the table below, with comparative details of the pre-amended position:
| Permitted modes of filing ROI | Taxpayer | |||
| Companies, including foreign companies,(other than those carrying on charitable or other specified activities) | Individuals/ HUF liable to tax audit | |||
| Old | New | Old | New | |
| Paper form (including barcoded ROI) | No | No | Yes | No |
| E-filing with digital signature | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| E-filing without digital Signature (SeeNote below) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Note
As per the current system, a ROI filed electronically without digital signature is required to be followed up with signed verification which is to be sent by ordinary post to Centralized
Processing Centre of the Tax Authority at Bengaluru within a period of 120 days from the date of e-filing.
There is no change in permitted modes for filing ROI by the following taxpayers:
| Permitted modes of filing ROI | Taxpayer | ||
| Firms/ LLP liable to tax
audit |
Individuals/ HUF/Firms/ LLP not liable to tax audit and other taxpayers | Taxpayers carrying on charitable or otherspecified activities | |
| Paper form (including bar
coded ROI) |
No | Yes | Yes |
| E-filing with digital signature | Yes | Yes | No |
| E-filing without digital Signature | Yes | Yes | No |
Comments
The Notification curtails the permitted mode of filing ROl for (i) companies (including foreign companies) and (ii) individuals/HUF which are liable for tax audit.
The ITL requires ROl of companies to be signed and verified by the Managing Director of the company. If there is no Managing Director or for any unavoidable reason the Managing Director is not able to sign and verify the ROl, any Director of the company can comply with the requirement. In case of foreign companies, the ITL permits the return to be signed and verified by a person who holds a valid power of attorney.
The amendment necessitates that the ROl of a company should be uploaded with digital signature. Foreign companies which are required to file ROl would need to note and comply with the new requirement. Incidentally, the compliance with digital signature would reduce the time involved in the process since, under this mode, there is no need to send a signed hard copy of verification to the Tax Authority by post.
Being a deductor is it necessarily required digital signature certificate to file revised income tax return for period before 2009-10.
is digital signature made mandatory for firm and huf whose liabe for audit u/s 44ab for asst yeat 2011-2012, kindle help
1. I get the DSC with encrypted value of PAN in last week. The ITR -6 for Asst. Yera 2009-10 was filed without in previous year without Digitial signature. In said return the Director who signed the ITR 6 under Verification has given the PAN No. of the Company instead of his PAN No. Now for Asst. Year 2010-11 I updated the Digital certificate. I received the following information “You have successfully registered your Digital Certificate with the Income Tax Department. You can use the same for login into the E-filing site and to upload your returns” After logout and again login I uploaded ITR 6 Now it shows as under:m Error in Upload of ITR – Digital Signature is mandatory for Companies to file the e-Return from AY 2010-11 onwards. Please register digital signatue certificate of Directoror Person verifying the return Please rectify the Above error(s) and upload your return again” At first instance it shows that DSC is registered and after uploaded it show error in ITR. Kinly clarify and help
ROI has to be signed by the MD or Director, does it mean that the ROI should be uploaded with the digital signature of the concern person, or it can be uploaded with any digital signature?