Filing income tax returns with false claims may land assessee’s in jail, say officials
The Income Tax (I-T) Department officials have cautioned against filing the I-T returns with false claims seeking exemptions and deductions, saying that it may land the assesses in jail, besides attracting a huge penalty.
The I-T Department officials, in association with the South Central Railway (SCR), organised an ‘Outreach Awareness Programme’ for the employees here on July 2 (Tuesday).
Participating in the programme as the chief guest, Vijayawada Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Narendra A. Patil said many employees were filing their I-T returns through middlemen or chartered accountants by submitting all details to them.
“If the middlemen misguide us and file returns with false claims, you (the assessee) will land in trouble,” he said.
“The I-T Act is very stringent. Some employees are negligent in this regard and they need to be careful. Just spend a couple of hours, read the I-T laws and provisions and file the returns on your own,” said the DRM and thanked the I-T officers for organising the awareness programme.
Income Tax Joint Commissioner N. Abhinaya said the theme of the programme was to empower the employees on compliance with tax laws and provisions.
“It was noticed that some salaried employees filed their I-T returns by submitting false claims during 2022-23 and 2023-24. Consequences of wrongful deductions will be severe. Fraudulent claims will attract a penalty at 200%, besides imprisonment,” Ms. Abhinaya said.
“During our verification in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, a large number of assesses have been found to have filed incorrect exemptions and deductions and claimed huge returns,” she said.
“It was noticed that the employees claimed huge refunds which resulted in action against the consultants and intermediaries for the malpractice and fraudulent claims,” the Joint Commissioner said.
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