Agriculture ministry to share taxpayers\' information with I-T dept for PM-KISAN scheme
New Delhi: The ministry of agriculture will have to share information of taxpayers with income tax department for identifying the eligible beneficiaries under the PM-KISAN scheme, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has notified.
“In pursuance of sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 138 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the Central Government hereby specifies joint secretary (farmers welfare), department of agriculture, cooperation and farmers welfare, ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare, for the purposes of the said clause in connection with sharing of information regarding income-tax assessees for identifying the eligible beneficiaries under PM-KISAN Yojana,” the Board said in a notification dated July 23.
The PM-KISAN scheme provides Rs 6,000 per year in three instalments as income support to all landholding farmers' families for meeting agriculture and domestic needs related expenses.
Affluent farmers have been excluded from the scheme such as income tax payers in the last assessment year, professionals like doctors, engineers, lawyers, chartered accountants etc and pensioners drawing at least Rs 10,000 per month.
The Centre has released more than Rs 50,850 crores as of February 2020, benefitting 8.46 crores farmer families. The scheme covers a total of 14 crore beneficiaries as per estimates of the Agriculture Census 2015-16.