Annual Information Statement is nothing but Form 26AS with a widened scope which previously used to contain the details of TDS, TCS and Advance Tax. It also used to contain the details of income tax refunds with interest on such refunds. The Income Tax Department has announced a new statement AIS-Annual Information Statement to contain information more than the tax particulars.
What Annual Information Statement is supposed to contain?
AIS is going to contain details such as interest on savings accounts, transactions pertaining to mutual funds of the previous year etc. Thus, the following transactions too shall be covered under the scope of AIS:
-Purchase/redemption of Shares
-Mutual Funds beyond certain thresholds
-Dividends
-Interest on Savings Bank accounts and Deposits
-Payment of Credit cards dues
-Insurance
-Salary or Business Income
-Purchase of property above thirty lakh rupees
There could be more categories based on individual financial profile and the above are just a few examples. Note that the details will be shown in the AIS only if the aggregate amount of the transaction falling in that category with an entity exceeds the maximum prescribed limit.
AIS will enable furnishing of all financial transactions entered into by the taxpayer with various entities which are traceable by the I-T Department based on the PAN. These entities include banks, registration offices, regional transportation office, authorized dealers dealing in foreign exchange, RBI, stock exchanges, companies issuing shares and debentures, mutual funds and all the taxpayers who are liable to deduct and collect tax at source.
Why AIS?
All the transactions with various entities as per the set limits will be reported through the AIS. The tax department will be able to detect tax evasion using artificial intelligence. Transactions carried out digitally are often linked.
Again for example cash transactions may be traced by the department. Online purchases made from a site by a particular taxpayer may be questioned by the income-tax department. Those who are not evading tax should not worry about anything. Only those who find ways to get away with black money by spending them through such channels might fall into the trap. PAN will enable tracking all such transactions to one’s AIS though the sites he/she used didn’t ask for PAN.
It will be easy for a taxpayer to report the correct information in the ITR. Mismatch in the actual financial transaction and the data reported in the ITR can be avoided. In case the ITR has already been filed and some information is not included in it, you can revise the return to reflect the correct information. For the variation between the TDS/TCS paid and displayed in 26AS on TRACES portal and the amount shown in the AIS, the information on the TRACES portal can be taken as final for the purposes of tax and other compliances.
AIS makes the process more organized, leaving a little room for both unintentional and intentional errors to get on surface quickly. It consolidates and cross checks the details of a taxpayer using technology at its best.
How to access AIS?
Here are the steps to access AIS:
- Log in to your account on the Income Tax e-filling portal at http://incometax.gov.in
- Go to the Sevices Tab
- Select the option appearing as AIS. A pop-up will appear on your screen, click on ‘proceed’ which will redirect you to another website. On the new web page tab select ‘AIS’.
- This will open in a new tab with two options.
a) Left Side-This will show Tax Information Summary or TIS. TIS shows the value generated after duplication of information based on pre-defined rules and the value derived after considering the taxpayer feedback and processed value. It will automatically update in real time, and the derived value will be used for pre-filling of Return which is enabled in a phased manner. If some of the transactions do not belong to you, you can report those transactions online and the AIS gets modified to that extent retaining the original information submitted by you along with its value. For example when you invest in mutual funds jointly in the name of other unitholders, the total will come to a higher value as it is a consolidation of all such investments made by you. You need not worry about that. But report online for an inaccuracy like a transaction which you did not enter into. If you do not give feedback requesting correction for an error, the department will assume that the information reflecting in AIS is correct.
b) Right side shows AIS. It shows the financial year for which AIS is being downloaded, taxpayer’s name and PAN.
- Select the download arrow on the AIS box. A pop will ask you to select the format for downloading AIS. You can download it in PDF, JSON and CSV formats.
The PDF is password protected. The password is a combination of your PAN and date of birth.
AIS is divided into two parts. Part A and Part B. Part A contains general information like name of the taxpayer, date of birth, PAN and masked Aadhar Card Number. Part B contains comprehensive information of TDS, TCS, tax demand, tax refunds etc.
Is AIS going to replace 26AS?
One can get both 26AS and AIS. The Income Tax Department now has access to all your financial information through these statements. However, this will make the filling of your Income Tax return very easy. The government has introduced the AIS for the purpose of better compliance by the taxpayers. Once the AIS system becomes fully operational, the I-T Department may discontinue Form No. 26AS.
Bhoi Smrutirekha Dharanidhar