Govt notifies tax return forms for AY 2020-21

NEW DELHI: The government has notified the income-tax return (ITR) forms for the assessment year (AY) 2020-21 for individual, professional and corporate assesses, allowing taxpayers to avail of benefits of investments in tax-saving instruments for an extended period up to June 30.

The forms also seek to captures information on cash deposits exceeding ₹1 crore, expenditure on foreign travel exceeding ₹2 lakh and electricity expenses exceeding ₹1 lakh.

The income-tax (I-T) department on Sunday said in a tweet that the Central Bureau of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notified ITR forms 1 to 7 for AY 2020-21, which seeks to captures income and investment details for the financial year 2019-20, through an order dated May 29.

The government has given four months’ additional time to the taxpayers to file returns for 2019-20 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had extended the due date for all income-tax returns from July 31 to November 30, while announcing the first tranche of ₹21 lakh crore Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan stimulus package on May 13.

According to Saraswathi Kasturirangan, partner at the consulting firm Deloitte India, the ITR 1 form, which is also known as Sahaj (easy), has been reissued with some changes.