Requirement of compulsory filing of ITR even when income is not taxable

Requirement of compulsorily filing income tax return even when income is not taxable or income is below exemption limit

Question 1:  do not have any income, do I need to file Income Tax Return?

Question 2: I have income below the exemption limit, do I need to file my income tax return?

Time and again, these question are often asked by people, specially by senior citizens. It is true that if one has no income or taxable income below exemption limit he is not required to pay any income Tax. However, there are some conditions related to high value transactions etc. prescribed under section 139 of the Income Tax Act 1961, which requires compulsory filing of income tax return irrespective of one’s income.

The conditions are as under:    

(i) Deposit in Current Account

If one has deposited an amount or aggregate of the amounts exceeding one crore rupees in one or more current accounts maintained with a banking company or a co-operative bank; or

(ii) Expenditure on Foreign Trip

If one has incurred expenditure of an amount or aggregate of the amounts exceeding two lakh rupees for himself or any other person for travel to a foreign country; or

(iii) Consumption of electricity

If one has incurred expenditure of an amount or aggregate of the amounts exceeding one lakh rupees towards consumption of electricity; or

(iv) Business Turnover:

if total sales, turnover or gross receipts in the business exceeds sixty lakh rupees during the previous year.

(v) Gross Receipts in Profession

If total gross receipts of a professional exceeds ten lakh rupees during the previous year; or

(vi) Tax Deducted at Source:

If the aggregate of tax deducted at source and tax collected at source during the previous year, in the case of the person, is twenty-five thousand rupees or more (Rs. fifty thousand in case of senior citizens) or

(vii) Deposit in Saving Bank Account

If one has deposited in one or more savings bank account, in aggregate, is rupees fifty lakh or more during the previous year:

Question 3: Do I have to file ITR when I have no tax payable after section 87A rebate ?

Yes, one has to file ITR if his/her total income is more than 250000/- before rebate u/s 87A.

• Object of assessment proceedings is not to find empirically correct solution on every fact issue – HC
• Penalty u/s 270A deleted as assessee filed revised computation during scrutiny
• Penalty u/s 271B for unfilled column 40 in Tax Audit Report Form 3CD deleted by ITAT
• Merely ex-parte rectifying computation without amending assessment order not make it nullity- ITAT
• Once assessee discharges primary onus, it shifts to AO to bring evidence to contrary – ITAT