The new avatar of ITR 1 ? Saral-II ? brings respite from running into pages as one files the tax return. The form is a simple two-pager for FY 2009-10 . Saral-II aims to simplify filing the tax return for individuals having salary/pension income and only one house property. A person owning a house, self occupied or rented, can report the income/loss from the property via Saral-II, unlike earlier where a separate form was required to be filled, mentioning details such as address of the property, name and PAN of the tenant etc. Income from dividends, interests etc also find a place in the same form under the head income from other sources.
However, a closer look at Saral-II shows it is not applicable for capital gains, house property income/loss from more than one property, brought forward loss from house property, business or profession income, capital gains, income from lottery or horse races. Hence, entrepreneurs, professionals and people who have multiple investments in real estate will continue to use the detailed tax return forms (eg ITR 2, 4).
Saral-II requires disclosure of certain transactions such as expenditure on credit cards in excess of certain limits, purchase and sale of immovable property etc. Also, just like the other return forms, details of any taxes paid or deducted at source have to be reported.
Saral-II can also be filled electronically. Individuals can file the form via authorised intermediaries who digitise the data and send it to the income tax (IT) department. In line with last year, for online tax return filing, one needs to follow the steps mentioned below:
* Select Saral-II and download the return preparation software from https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in
* Fill the return offline and generate a XML file
* Go to IT department website and register by filling the basic details such as name, PAN, date of birth etc and create a user id/ password
* Login and select submit return. Browse to select XML file and click on upload
* On successful upload, acknowledgment details would be displayed. Generate a printout of the acknowledgment or new ITR-V Form.
* If the return is digitally signed, an acknowledgment would be generated. A printout should be kept as a record.
* If the return is not digitally signed, the tax payer needs to take a print out of ITR-V and send it to the Income Tax Department, CPC, Post Box No ? 1, Electronic City Post Office, Bangalore ? 560100, Karnataka. Acknowledgment receipt would be sent on the email.
?The author is partner Tax & Regulatory, B S R and Co