Income Tax: After filling ITR, it is necessary to keep all the documents. Experts say that it will be better if you keep these documents in physical form along with digital.
New Delhi. The last date for filing tax returns for the financial year 2021-22 (Assessment Year 2022-23) was 31 December. However, the person who has filed the return on this date also will be counted among the late ITR filers. For this he would have had to pay penalty and interest. It is necessary for a common person with an annual income of more than Rs 2.5 lakh to file a tax return. It contains all the information related to his earnings and tax liability. Whenever the Income Tax Department has to check your tax history, it also sees your ITR.
In recent times, it has been seen many times that the Income Tax Department has sent notices to taxpayers for many years old cases and has demanded tax return documents. Generally, people keep the tax return documents safe so that they can show them to the authorities at such times. However, there are many people who do not have these documents. In such a situation, the question arises that for how many years the return documents need to be kept by a taxpayer.
Is there any rule regarding this?
Tax expert Gori Chadha said in a conversation with CNBC Awaaz that there is no time limit for maintaining tax papers. However, he also put another point of view on it. He said that in Section 149 of the Income Tax, the time limit for sending income tax notice to any person has been given. She says that till the time the Income Tax Department can send you a notice, keep the documents safe. For example, in a common case, the Income Tax Department can send you a notice for investigation only after 3 years of an assessment year. However, if someone is accused of tax fraud and its amount is Rs 50 lakh or more, then the notice can be sent after 10 years of the assessment year. On the other hand, if the taxpayer’s income is also from any foreign asset, then notice can be sent to him for 16 years.
It is necessary to keep all the documents
Gauri Chadha says that the Income Tax Department does not check all the documents while accepting the ITR. He accepts the return considering the information given by you as correct. However, whatever you have self-declared in the return must have documents. For example, if you say that under Section 80C you have invested the entire Rs 1.50 lakh on which you are claiming exemption, then you must have proofs of these investments. Whenever the Income Tax Department will ask for proof from you, you will have to show them these documents. If you do not do this then you can get into trouble.
