HRA refund claims under I-T scanner

Ranchi: The income tax (I-T) department will launch a drive against tax evasion and bogus refunds even as the organisation is striving to collect Rs 14,700 crore as taxes from the Bihar-Jharkhand region for the 2018-19 financial year.
The I-T department is also scrutinising returns filed by salaried individuals to detect cases where employees have claimed incorrect house rent allowance (HRA) deductions.

Principal chief commissioner of income tax (PCCIT) Kailash Chandra Ghumaria on Friday the department has detected a large number of salaried people have claimed HRA exemption in a wrongful manner to evade paying taxes.

Ghumaria said the I-T department is also exploring other areas for enhancing tax collections in a bid to meet its annual target. He added that the department has initiated action against those who claimed bogus refunds. “We have identified around 1,400 people so far, with most offenders being from Ranchi and Ramgarh. FIRs have been lodged against those indulging in fraud by filing bogus returns,” he said.

“We have decided to take action against 179 habitual evaders who have refused to file I-T returns despite several opportunities.

Ghumaria informed that the department has collected Rs 8,400 crore as taxes from Bihar and Jharkhand region so far. “We hope to reach Rs 9,000 crore by the end of February,” he added.