Income Tax Notice: Keep a complete record of the money sent outside the country and show it in your ITR as well
Income Tax Notice: People often send money abroad for some work or other reason. For example, sending money for the fees and expenses of children studying abroad or buying a property abroad. In this process, it is necessary for them to follow some rules and procedures related to income tax. If you do not do this or make any mistake in it, you may get a notice from the Income Tax Department.
When is a tax notice sent?
Under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme, residents of India can send an amount of up to Rs 250,000 abroad in a business year without paying any additional tax. If you send more money abroad than this limit, then a notice can be sent to you by the Income Tax Department to explain the reason for sending the money. You should show all types of foreign remittances in your Income Tax Return i.e. ITR. If you do not do this, you can also get a tax notice from the Income Tax Department.
Kunal Savani, partner of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, a firm providing tax consultancy services, explains that “If you have received a tax notice from the tax department on foreign remittance, then you do not need to panic or get worried. Usually, in the first notice or information, you only need to confirm that you have sent money abroad.
You should properly accept the fact of sending money abroad while responding to this notice. After this, you should present all your documents in front of the Income Tax Department, which give information about the reason and purpose of your foreign remittance. Also, the documents presented by you should also give information about the actual use of the money sent abroad by you. ” Amit Bansal, partner of Singhania & Co., told what you should do if you receive a tax notice on foreign remittance.
Understand the notice and its purpose: According to Bansal, first of all you should try to understand the notice. For this, read the notice carefully why it was issued. The notice may have been issued due to low reporting of foreign remittances or non-reporting. Its purpose may be to correct tax evasion and get the appropriate tax paid.
Check your documents: Bansal said that apart from this, you should also check your foreign remittance related documents. Verify all the information mentioned in these documents including the amount of foreign remittance, the purpose of sending the amount abroad and the tax deducted at source i.e. TDS. Apart from this, also ensure that the foreign remittance was done as per the rules and you have all the necessary documents related to it like Form 15CA/15CB, bank statement and challan.
Reply within the deadline: According to Bansal, the reply to the tax notice should be given within the deadline, because tax notices usually have a time limit for responding. Therefore, reply to the notice through the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department within the time limit mentioned in the notice. Also attach all the necessary documents to confirm the information given by you.
Take professional advice: If you do not understand how to respond to the tax notice or the amount of the tax notice is very high, then you must consult a tax consultant about this. He can help you prepare a proper reply to the notice. With this, you will be able to assure the Income Tax Department that you have followed all the rules and procedures properly. Or even if there is any mistake, it is by mistake.
Submit other information as well: If the Income Tax Department asks for some other or further information or clarification related to the remittance, then provide these details to the department in a timely and accurate manner in response to your notice. Ignoring a tax notice may lead to a penalty or other action against you. Therefore, it is important to take the tax notice seriously and respond to it properly and on time.
