Income Tax Refund processing: Wrong deductions and exemptions in ITR can land you in big trouble

financialexpress.com:

Misreporting of income and claiming wrongful deductions while filing the Income Tax Return (ITR) for AY 2023-24 can lead to serious consequences, according to Income Tax Department.

Mitali Madhusmita, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region, recently said that many taxpayers have claimed refunds of as high as 75% to 90% of the TDS deducted by the employer.

Addressing media last week, the Income Tax official said a large number of salaried taxpayers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been found to have claimed wrong deductions/exemptions in their ITRs. They have claimed refunds based on those wrongful deductions/exemptions.

Talking about the consequences of wrongful deduction/exemption claims, Mitali Madhusmita said that under the Income-tax Act,1961, there are stringent consequences of misreporting income and claiming wrongful deductions. Such consequences include interest @ 12%/year, penalty @ 200% of taxes and prosecution which may entail imprisonment.

Also Read:Income Tax Return processing AY 2023-24: When will you get refunds?

“Under the Income-tax Act,1961(the ‘Act’) there are stringent consequences of misreporting of income and claiming wrongful deductions. Those include interest @ 12% /yr, penalty @ 200% of taxes, prosecution which may entail imprisonment,” the official said.

As per Income Tax rules, no proof of deductions/exemptions claimed is required to be uploaded while filing the returns. Also, returns are also processed expeditiously and refunds are automatically credited to the bank account of the taxpayer.

However, taxpayers should ensure that they are claiming the right deductions/exemptions and they should keep documents as proof to show in case the tax