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Form 26AS - a consolidated annual tax statement – is an essential document required during filing Income Tax Return (ITR).
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This is just like tax passbook, which has all the information of all the incomes those have been reported, the taxed that have been deducted and other specific financial transaction those have been reported against assessee’s Permanent Account Number (PAN).
In order to asses form 26 AS, taxpayers just need to log-in to the e-filing portal of the income tax department and click on "View Form 26AS" under the 'My account' tab. This will navigate to the TRACES website which displays the Form 26AS.
For the current assessment year (AY20-21), the government has notified revised form 26AS, that contains more comprehensive profile of the taxpayer going beyond the details of tax collected and deducted at source.
According to Sandeep Sehgal, director-taxes and regulatory, AKM Global, a consulting firm, the revised Form 26AS mentions specified financial transactions undertaken by an individual during the financial year.
These transactions include:
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Open fixed deposits of more than Rs 10 lakh.
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Pay credit card bill of more than Rs 10 lakh by cheques and more than Rs 1 lakh by cash.
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Buy bonds of more than Rs 10 lakh.
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Buy mutual funds of more than Rs 10 lakh.
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Buy shares of more than Rs 10 lakh.
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Offer shares for buyback of more than Rs 10 lakh.
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Buy foreign exchange of more than Rs 10 lakh.
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Deposit more than Rs 10 lakh in cash in savings bank account.
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Deposit or withdraw more than Rs 10 lakh in cash from current account.
It is imperative to note, as Sehgal says, that these are cumulative amounts only.
"One could be doing separate transactions, but the total amount in aggregate for the financial year will be taken into account as reported by the concerned bank, mutual fund or any other with whom the transaction is made," he explains.
In addition to these, the revised form 26AS will also show if there is any past or pending litigation or proceedings with the Income Tax department. Moreover, details on tax refund paid to the individual for the year or outstanding tax demand against taxpayers’ name will also be visible in the revised form, according to Sonam Chandwani, managing partner at KS Legal and Associates.
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