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In a move to make income tax filing more accurate, the income tax department has expanded the scope of information included in Form 26AS by including details of mutual fund (MF) purchases and foreign remittances

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) On Wednesday issued an order under Section 285BB of the Internal Revenue Code that broadened the scope of information disclosed in the new Form 26AS.

Form 26AS is an annual consolidated tax statement that can be accessed from the income-tax website using their Permanent Account Number (PAN).

Foreign remittances made through an authorised dealer, salary breakup with deductions claimed by the employee, information in other taxpayers’ ITRs, interest on income tax refund, and information published in Statement of Financial Transactions are part of additional information that will be reflected in Form 26AS.

Off-market transactions reported by the depository/registrar and transfer agent, information about mutual fund dividends reported by the RTA, and information about mutual fund purchases reported by the RTA would all be included in Form 26AS.

Foreign Remittances

Apart from TDS/ TCS details, the Budget 2020-21 had introduced a new Section 285BB in the I-T Act to revamp Form 26AS to an ‘Annual Information Statement,’ which would contain comprehensive information of specified financial transactions, tax payment, demand/ refund, and pending/completed proceedings undertaken by a taxpayer in a particular financial year that must be mentioned in income tax returns.

This followed the Income Tax Department announced that the new Form 26AS would include information on high-value financial transactions made during a financial year, facilitating voluntary compliance and e-filing of I-T reports.

The set of details to be accessible in Form 26AS has been enlarged further with this October 26 order.

The Hindu quoted Om Rajpurohit, Director – Direct & International Tax, AMRG & Associates, as saying that the provision of more information to the Annual Information Statement in Form 26AS would make faceless digital evaluations easier.

The news report quoted Nangia & Co LLP Partner Shailesh Kumar as saying that the revised Form 26AS will now include information on foreign remittances made by taxpayers, as reported by Authorized Dealer in Form 15CC, as well as more detailed information about allowances and deductions claimed by taxpayers in relation to salary income reported to the employer.