Salary Income – Who Is Exempted from Filing Tax Return?

CA Subash Srinivasan

Salaried employees earning up to Rs 5 lakh a year will not be required to file income tax returns from this year, says Finance Ministry notification No. 9/2012, dated: February 17, 2012.

There are about 85 lakh salaried persons in the country whose yearly income, including earnings from other sources like bank deposits, does not exceed Rs 5 lakh.

“An individual whose total income for the relevant assessment year does not exceed Rs 5 lakh and consists of only income chargeable to income-tax under…salaries… (and) income from other sources, by way of interest from a saving account in a bank, not exceeding Rs 10,000” have been exempted from filing the returns from assessment year 2012-13”, it said.

IS IT SO……

The following are the hidden conditions for the above notification:

• The Total Income should not exceed Rs.500000
• The Tax payer should have received salary from only one EMPLOYER
• The Income should only be from Salary and Interest and Bank deposits provided the employee should have mentioned to EMPLOYER the Bank Interest and the Employer have to deduct Tax on it
• There should not be any tax to be paid by the employee
• There should not be any refund for that FY
• Interest earned should not exceed Rs.10000

On the other ground ,an assessee is getting a salary of 300000 PA or any such amount more than basic exemption limit and less than Rs.500000. Assessee may have invested in any of the investments mentioned U/s 80 C for which he’ll be getting interest which will exclude him from this exemption.

Practically speaking if you are going for any loans, Most of the banks’ be requesting to provide Income Tax returns, even though we are having pay slips.

Some of the Foreign Countries for issuing VISA, they specifically ask for Income tax return.

 On evaluating the above, an assessee in no way is exempted from filing return of Income unless he is not having any Income.

(Author can be reached at subiin54@gmail.com)

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