« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  ITR Filing and Income Tax Audit Deadline Extended: 5 Critical Things Taxpayers Must Know  Filing Belated ITR for AY 2026-27? Know Which Losses You Can Carry Forward and Which You May Lose  CBDT Extends Tax Audit Report Deadline to October 21, ITR Filing Last Date to November 21 for AY 2026-27  CBDT Extends AY 2026-27 ITR Filing Deadline for Tax-Audit Cases: New Dates and Key Compliance Details  Foreign Assets Missing From Your ITR? Income Tax Department Opens One-Time Disclosure Window  Tax Audit Deadline September 30: Why AIS, TDS and GST Figures May Not Match Your ITR and What Taxpayers Should Do  Tax audit deadline September 30: Common mistakes taxpayers should avoid  Your ITR says ‘verified’, but the refund hasn’t arrived? 5 reasons why your money could be stuck  Missed the ITR Deadline but TDS Refund Is Due? Here’s How You Can Still Claim Your Money  ITAT Cuts ?4.85 Lakh Penalty After ?14.02 Lakh Interest Income Was Missed in ITR  ITR filed under old regime, tax calculated under new regime; Delhi ITAT gives taxpayer relief «  Designing and fabrication abroad not taxable: SC... PwC suggests gradual shift to unified GST... » I-T dept hot on trail of tax dodgers June, 07th 2007 Tax evaders should brace themselves for tough times as the department plans to intensify scrutiny of I-T returns. The aggressive mood of the taxman is evident by the fact that 294 warrants have been executed in the first month of the fiscal, a 170% jump over the same period of the previous year. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is planning set a target for field formations for carrying out scrutiny. Every assistant commissioner will be asked to scrutinise 20 cases in a year. This is the core function of the department that helps in realising higher revenues, hence the increased focus, a government source said. At present, only 2% of the returns are scrutinised and officials do not have fixed targets. Scrutiny is now attracting more attention as it helps the department unearth concealed income. It may be noted the Parliamentary Standing Committee on finance had asked the CBDT to intensify scrutiny. The tax department now uses details of transactions revealed in the annual information returns in carrying out scrutiny. The data on high-value purchases such as plasma TVs could also be used during scrutiny to match income and expenditure of individuals with their tax returns. Scrutiny procedures could be made more stringent to improve the quality. With the department facing acute shortage of manpower, concern has been expressed about the quality of scrutiny. The scrutiny for the assessment year 2005-06 has to be completed by December 31, 2007. Similarly, there seems to be increased focus on searches and seizures. The aggressive mood of the department can be adjudged with the total amount of seizures in the first month of the fiscal at Rs 33.09 crore. This is against Rs 23.52-crore seizures in April 2006.