Manual paper return with refund claims filed by non super senior citizens not valid-CBDT
As per Section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 read with Rule 12(3) of Income Tax Rules, 1962, every individual whose total income during the previous year exceeds five lakhs or if any refund is claimed, is required to file his/her return electronically.
The only exception from filing e-returns is provided to super senior citizens (i.e. individuals of the age of 80 years or more at any time during the relevant financial year and furnishing return in Form ITR-1 or ITR-2
As per recent Directorate of Income Tax Systems Instruction related to ITR Processing (ITBA-ITR Processing Instruction No.2), from the data of paper returns digitized by assessing officers and pushed to CPC-ITR for processing, it was observed that:
(a) Manual paper return with refund claims have been filed by assessees other than super senior citizens.
(b) Manual paper returns were filed without refund claims and after processing refund is determined in some cases. This is mainly due to tax calculation error by taxpayer or non-claiming of rebate u/s 87A and
(c) Manual paper returns were filed declaring no refund no demand and after processing, demand is determined in some cases. This is mainly due to tax calculation error by taxpayer or mismatch of pre-paid taxes.
As per the Instruction, as approved by the CBDT, the following steps need to be observed before processing such manual paper returns.
(a) Manually filed ITRs with refund claim by non super senior citizens
Manual paper return with refund claims have been filed by assessees other than super senior citizens are not filed in the mode and manner prescribed in Rule 12. In such cases, the paper returns are not valid returns and taxpayers should be intimated accordingly and advised to submit ITR electronically. The paper return will be treated as invalid.
(b) Manual NDNR ITRs where refund is determined after processing
Where when assessee has not claimed refund in the return (NDNR cases) but refund is determined after processing then such ITRs are treated as valid under Rule 12 of IT Rules 1962 and such ITRs should be processed and refund issued. If such cases are digitized and pushed to CPC-ITR for processing, the AO will be asked to re-confirm if the data entry in paper ITR is correct and also to confirm the refund computed before processing u/s 143(1) is completed if the refund amount is greater than Rs 2,000. Such confirmation will be through electronic mode
(c) Manual NDNR ITRs where demand is determined after processing
Where the assessee has submitted the paper return as NDNR but demand is determined after processing due to mismatch in pre-paid tax due to invalid/incorrect TAN, lack of TDS in 26AS or any other reasons, such ITRs are to be treated as valid under Rule 12 of IT Rules 1962 and such ITRs should be allowed to be processed and demand generated. AO may be asked to confirm if the data entry in paper ITR is correct and also confirm the demand computed through e-mode, before processing u/s 143(1) is completed. In case of data entry error, the AO can correct the data and resend the record to CPC-ITR for processing.
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