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Time of India

16 transactions which tax dept gets to know via SFT returns; Report them now to avoid possible jail term for misreporting income

'I recollect two instances. A friend who was in a multinational bank filed an ITR omitting to disclose his savings bank interest which was about Rs 25,000. The case was picked up for scrutiny and when his bank account was extracted the assessing officer found out and added to taxable income and initiated penalty proceedings.' 'In another case of a businessman, the SFT information revealed he had disposed of a piece of land and had not offered capital gains on the said transaction. The officer reopened the assessment and brought capital gains to tax and levied penalty and initiated prosecution proceedings.' How is SFT used for tracking transactions? Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills What transactions are reported via SFT? No. Nature of Transaction Value of Transaction Reporting Person/ Specified Person 1 Cash payment for the purchase of bank drafts or pay orders or banker's cheques. If the aggregate payment is Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year. Bank or Co-operative Bank 2 Cash payment for the purchase of pre-paid instruments issued by the RBI If aggregate payment is Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year Bank or Co-operative Bank 3 Cash deposits in one or more current accounts of a person If the aggregate amount is Rs 50 lakh or more in a financial year Bank or Co-operative Bank 4 Cash withdrawals (including through bearer's cheque) from one or more current accounts of a person If the aggregate amount is Rs 50 lakh or more in a financial year Bank or Co-operative Bank 5 Cash deposits in one or more accounts (other than a current account and time deposit) of a person If the aggregate amount is Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year • Bank or Co-operative Bank • Post Master General 6 Receipt of cash payment for the sale, by any person, of goods or services of any nature, not being a transaction whose specific reporting is otherwise required If the amount is more than Rs 2 lakhs Any person who is liable for tax audit under Section 44AB 7 Payment in cash for one or more credit cards issued to that person If aggregate payment is Rs 1 lakh or more in a financial year Bank or Co-operative Bank or any other company or institution issuing credit card 8 Payment in any mode (other than cash) for one or more credit cards issued to that person If aggregate payment is Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year Bank or Co-operative Bank or any other company or institution issuing credit card 9 One or more time deposits (other than a time deposit made through renewal of another time deposit) of a person If the aggregate amount is Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year • Bank or Co-operative bank • Post Master General • Nidhi Companies • NBFCs 10 Receipt from any person for acquiring bonds or debentures issued by the company or institution (other than the amount received on account of renewal of the bond or debenture issued by that company) If the aggregate amount is Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year A company or institution issuing bonds or debentures 11 Receipt from any person for acquiring shares (including share application money) issued by the company If the aggregate amount is Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year A company issuing shares 12. Buyback of shares from any person (other than the shares bought in the open market) If the aggregate amount is Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year A company listed on a recognized stock exchange purchasing its own securities 13. Receipt from any person for acquiring units of one or more schemes of a Mutual Fund (other than the amount received on account of transfer from one scheme to another scheme of that Mutual Fund) If the aggregate amount is Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year A trustee of a Mutual Fund or such other authorized person managing the affairs of a Mutual Fund 14. Purchase or sale by any person of immovable property If transaction value or valuation by Stamp Valuation Authority is Rs 30 lakh or more Inspector-General or Registrar or Sub-Registrar under the Registration Act, 1908 15. Receipt from any person for sale of foreign currency including credit of such currency to a foreign exchange card If the aggregate amount is Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year •Authorised Dealer •Money Changer •Offshore Banking Unit • Any other person authorised to deal in foreign exchange or foreign securities 16. Expense in foreign currency through a debit or credit card or through the issue of Travellers Cheque or Draft or any other instrument. Aggregating to Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year. •Authorised Dealer • Money Changer •Offshore Banking Unit Any other person authorised to deal in foreign exchange or foreign securities What can happen if you don't report the incomes shown in the SFT and AIS? Tax notices: The Income Tax Department may issue a notice seeking clarification on high-value financial transactions reflected in the taxpayer's AIS. Such notices are typically issued to verify whether the reported transactions have been appropriately disclosed in the Taxpayer's ITR and insisting to file revised or ITR-U in case of non/ partial disclosure in the return filed. The Income Tax Department may issue a notice seeking clarification on high-value financial transactions reflected in the taxpayer's AIS. Such notices are typically issued to verify whether the reported transactions have been appropriately disclosed in the Taxpayer's ITR and insisting to file revised or ITR-U in case of non/ partial disclosure in the return filed. Selection under scrutiny: In case the information reported in SFT does not align with the income disclosed in the ITR, or if the taxpayer has failed to file the ITR despite required, or where response to a notice issued is not furnished or found unsatisfactory and requires detailed scrutiny, the Tax Authorities may issue notice to verify the overall correctness and completeness of the income reported. In case the information reported in SFT does not align with the income disclosed in the ITR, or if the taxpayer has failed to file the ITR despite required, or where response to a notice issued is not furnished or found unsatisfactory and requires detailed scrutiny, the Tax Authorities may issue notice to verify the overall correctness and completeness of the income reported. Penalty for under reporting or misreporting of income: Following these scrutiny proceedings, if the Tax Authorities issue an order that assesses income by making addition and determining the extra tax liability along with any applicable interest, then, a penalty may also be imposed for under-reporting or misreporting of income. This penalty, if levied, may range from 50% to 200 % of the tax payable (in cases of under-reporting and misreporting of income). Offence Punishment Wilful attempt to evade tax exceeding Rs 25 lakh Rigorous imprisonment between 6 months and 7 years, plus fine Other cases of tax concealment or misreporting Imprisonment between 3 months and 2 years, plus fine All banks and specified financial institutions have to file a return to the income tax department known as the ' Specified Financial Statement SFT ). The SFT return includes the details of all the financial transactions undertaken by a tax payer . The information is PAN based which allows the tax department to monitor your financial activities for signs of possible tax example, if someone reported an income of Rs 2 lakh per year on their ITR, but the tax department's records shows that this person purchased gold worth Rs 14 lakh, it raises concerns . While there is no legal issue with the purchases, it can trigger scrutiny and the individual may be asked to explain the source of their Srinivasan, former chief commissioner of Income Tax Department told ET Wealth Online:The information reported in the SFT by the reporting entity i.e., by banks, mutual funds, registrars, etc., is automatically populated in the Annual Information Statement ( AIS ) of the respective taxpayer Ritika Nayyar, Partner, Singhania & Co, says all information from SFT returns against a taxpayer's PAN is auto-populated in the taxpayer's annual information statement (AIS).Nayyar explains: 'Whatever financial information is provided by financial institutions in this SFT form gives an overview of all the financial transactions undertaken by the taxpayer during the year. This in turn helps the taxpayer in verifying the data to be put in his ITR. One should ensure that they check the data in the AIS while preparing and filing the return, it will help in ensuring the ITR is accurately filed and eventually faster processing of ITRs.'Also read: Four critical changes in Income Tax Act: Standard deduction, UPS, income tax search, and other changes to be applicable in FY 2025-26 The following table shows transactions reported via SFT returns, which in turn is auto-populated in your Singhania & CoSanjoli Maheshwari, Executive Director, Nangia & Co LLP says: 'These thresholds are applicable on an annual basis. The SFT must be furnished by the reporting entities on or before 31st May following the end of the financial year.'Maheshwari from Nangia & Co LLP, says: 'If a Taxpayer fails to report the transactions in its Income Tax Return (ITR) or there is mismatch in the transactions reported through SFT and reflecting in AIS, it may result in various consequences which includes:Maheshwari says that taxpayers can be subject to prosecution and imprisonment in cases of willful or deliberate tax evasion:Source: Nangia & Co LLPMaheshwari says: 'However, it may be pertinent to note that there are provisions wherein said proceedings would not be instituted and would be eligible for compounding subject to prescribed guidelines and prior approval of relevant Tax Authority.'