Revised Form 26AS (Annual Information Statement)

Revised Form 26AS – A Simplified Version of Form 26AS

Introduction

Revised Form 26AS, also called as Annual Information Statement, was announced in the Budget 2020-21 to simplify ITR filing process. The new simplified version of Form 26AS came into effect from June 1, 2020.

Lets discuss in detail what is Form 26AS? What are the changes in the form 26AS as per the recent announcement? Which additional information can be added to the new version of Form 26AS? What is Annual Information Statement?

Revised Form 26AS Explained

What is Form 26AS?

• Form 26AS is an annual consolidated credit statement issued by the income tax to help assessees cross-verify income earned, tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax deposited during a given financial year.
• In short, Form 26AS consists of Income Tax Related Information.
• According to Section 203AA and Rule 31AB of Income Tax Act, 1961, Income Tax Officer was bound to upload all the tax related information (TDS and Taxes) in the Registered Account.
• All the uploaded information reflects in Form 26AS. Now, the form has been elaborated and Form 26AS has been revised.

What is Revised 26AS?

• Now, Existing section 203AA of Income Tax Act, 1961 and Rule 31AB shall be deleted now and a new section 285BB and Rule 114-I shall be inserted.
• The Revised Form 26AS will be known as ‘Annual Information Statement’.
• New Form 26AS will have comprehensive information on :
  1. Taxes paid by the assessee
  2. Details of pending and completed income tax proceedings
  3. Status of income tax demand and refund
  4. Details of specified financial transactions like purchase of shares or property.
• The move would simplify the ITR filing process as most of the related details would be fetched from this form. The taxman will also be able to verify details given in the ITR and process the return quickly.
• Under this section, Income Tax Officers are bound to upload all the tax related information in the registered account of the assessee within 3 months from the receipt of the information.

Purpose of Introduction of Revised Form 26AS

• Existing Form 26AS is revised in such a way that all the tax related information will be reflected in a single form.
• On the other hand, due to the syncing of all the information in Form 26AS, IT Department can track those assessees who do not provide full disclosure in their Income Tax Return.

Comparison between Existing and New Form 26AS

What can be included under Specified Financial Transactions?

What is Annual Information Report?

What basic information will be reflected in Form 26AS?

• It includes the following information-
  1. Full name of the Assessee
  2. PAN of the Assessee
  3. Aadhar of the Assessee
  4. Date of Birth of the Assessee
  5. Registered Mobile Number
  6. Registered Email Address
  7. Residential Address of the Assessee

Conclusion

• Now all the information will be reflected in Form 26AS, so make sure that you make a full disclosure of your income and TDS and tax payments to the Income Tax Department while filing your income tax return.
• If you make incorrect disclosure, IT Department can send you a notice on the basis of the information provided in Form 26AS.
• Friendly Suggestion
  • Revised form 26AS contains all the confidential and sensitive information. Therefore, do not share your Form 26AS to unknown person.