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E-Filing of Returns Must for Those Earning Income Over Rs.10 Lakh

The government has made it mandatory for individuals earning income over Rs.10 lakh to electronically file (e-file) their tax returns for 2011-12. E-filing of tax returns was optional for those individuals of income category till 2010-11.

Income-tax department said that e-filing of returns is mandatory for individuals whose income exceeds 10 lakh rupees for assessment year 2012-13. According to Income-Tax department, as on March 31, 2012, there were 19,684,592 tax payers registered for e-filing. It also said that it had received a record number of 1.64 crore e-returns in the year 2011-12.

According to finance ministry official, e-filing of returns makes the entire process faster. Currently, professionals with income of Rs.15 lakh and ‘Business firms’ with receipts of Rs.60 lakh are mandatorily required to e-file their returns with digital signature.

Recently, government has made it mandatory to report the details of number of assets held by individual abroad, including the interest earned on any investment or entity. The new norms for filing tax returns ask taxpayers to furnish details of donations made for claiming tax deductions. The Finance Minister while presenting the budget 2012, said that furnishing of those returns by such residents/individuals would be mandatory irrespective of the fact whether the resident has taxable income or not.