The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will soon offer SMS alerts for TDS deductions on a monthly basis to taxpayers
As many as 25 million salaried taxpayers will now receive SMS alerts from the Income Tax (I-T) department regarding their quarterly Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) deductions.
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday launched the SMS alert service for TDS deduction for salaried class and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will soon offer this facility on a monthly basis.
Briefing reporters about the facility, Jaitley said the salaried class cannot afford to pay tax twice or indulge in litigations and hence they should be kept updated about their TDS deductions. “Hence taxpayers will benefit if they receive information through use of technology. So they can match the office salary slip and the SMS and at the end of the fiscal. they will be clear about any possible tax dues,” Jaitley said.
The minister asked the CBDT to work towards making the grievance redressal system for TDS mismatch online so that there is no interface between the taxpayer and the tax department.
Jaitley said e-Nivaran is working well for taxpayers and the CBDT is taking several taxpayer-friendly initiatives.
The CBDT will soon extend this SMS facility to another 44 million non-salaried taxpayers. “The frequency of SMS alerts will be increased, once the process for filing TDS returns is streamlined to receive such information on a real-time basis,” the CBDT said.
CBDT chairperson Rani Singh Nair said the tax department is encouraging people to register their mobile number on the e-filing website. She said taxpayers will initially receive a welcome message from the CBDT notifying them about the facility, after which each assessee would be sent messages informing them about their respective TDS deductions.
The new step is an effort by the I-T department to directly communicate deposit of tax deducted through SMS alerts to salaried taxpayers. In case of a mismatch, they can contact their deductor for necessary correction.
Besides, SMS alerts will also be sent to deductors who have either failed to deposit taxes deducted or e-file their TDS returns by the due date.
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