The Annual Information Statement (AIS), was launched in November 2021. It provides taxpayers with a single comprehensive statement of the list of all of their transactions made in a particular year. This can be accessed on the income tax portal and includes all the transactions reported by banks, transfer agents, stock exchange, and registrar. The AIS is displayed in Form 26AS.
The Central Board of Taxes (CBDT) has introduced a new functionality in AIS. This functionality allows taxpayers to share their feedback on every transaction that is being displayed. This is also for taxpayers to respond to the feedback. This will help to verify correct data before filing the income tax returns.
“In AIS, taxpayers have been provided with a functionality to furnish feedback on every transaction displayed therein,” said the finance ministry, mentioning that the feedback will help taxpayers to confirm the accuracy of the data.
In this blog, we will find out about the New Functionality in AIS. So let’s go through the blog!
Understanding the Annual Information Statement (AIS)
AIS is the extension of Form 26AS. Details of the property purchases, high-value investments, etc., made in a particular year are displayed on Form 26AS. Whereas, AIS includes additional information such as dividends, rent received, savings account interest, purchase and sales transaction of security and other immovable properties. Interest on deposits, GST turnovers, etc. The further aggregation of transactions on information sources is also reported in TIS.
The Annual Information Statement is divided into two parts, which include:
- Part A: General Information Taxpayer
- Part B: TDS/TCS Information
Part A: General Information Taxpayer
This part of the AIS includes the information of the taxpayer such as their name, PAN details, masked Aadhaar card number, email, mobile number, home address, etc.
Part B: TDS/TCS Information
Part B of the Annual Information Statement (AIS) includes the financial transactions of the taxpayer. This includes the tax deducted at source (TDS), tax collected at source (TCS), specified financial transactions (SFTs), demand and refunds, payment of taxes, gains from various sources such as lotteries, and other games that can provide you money, interest from bonds, receipt of accumulated balance from the provident fund (PF), government security, insurance commission, etc.
Why is Transparency Important in Tax Information?
The tax era has started being transparent with the taxpayers. Today, it is not just a legal requirement but to give value to the taxpayers. Tax Transparency Report (TTR) is an annual report that mentions tax strategy, governance, and tax contributions. Various countries all around the world have made Transparency information important. In high-income countries and low-income countries.
In India, 50% of businesses are planning to prioritize tax transparency in ESG practices. This will allow taxpayers to keep a check on how their money is being used by the government and various business sectors and can help to reduce the corruption rates.
With that, tax transparency can promote trust between the government and the taxpayers. This is how people can understand how the tax system works and provide them with valuable information that they need. Tax Transparency can also promote social responsibility in various sectors.
New Functionality in AIS
Form 16 is given to salaried individuals by their employer to file for tax. This form is issued on May 31, every month. The taxpayers are required to verify the details and file their returns. Failing to do it on time can lead to an increase in their interest rates and the deadline for filing is June, 31st of every month.
As mentioned, an Annual Information Statement can allow taxpayers to keep a check on their financial statements for a particular year. With that taxpayers can check other aspects too, which include:
- The taxpayer can know the date on which the feedback has been shared with the Reporting Source for confirmation.
- With that, it will also allow the taxpayers to keep a check on the date on which the Reporting Source has responded.
- This will let the taxpayer know the response of the Reporting Source on the taxpayer's feedback.
How To Check Annual Information Statements(AIS)?
Step 1: Log in to the income tax e-filing portal at www.incometax.gov.in and go to the ‘Services’ tab. After this, select ‘Annual Information Statement’ to check your AIS.
Step 2: After selecting the option mentioned in step 1, click on the ‘Proceed’ button to move forward.
Step 3: You will be taken to the compliance portal of the AIS. Here you will find the AIS home page. On this page, you can view the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) and Annual Information Statement (AIS).
Step 4: Select the financial year you want to check and click on the tiles displayed for the TIS or AIS to view the desired information.
Step 5: You can download the AIS or TIS. Just click on the download icon provided in the respective tiles.
The TIS can be downloaded in PDF format, while the AIS is available in both PDF and JSON formats. Select the option of the format in which you want the document.
To access the PDF and JSON files, you will require a password. The password includes:
- Your PAN (in lowercase) and your date of birth.
- The format of the date of birth is DDMMYY. This should be entered without any spaces.
For instance, if your PAN is BBBB1234B, and your date of birth is 17th September 1990. Then your AIS password would be bbbb1234b17091990.
Steps to Be Taken Due to Error in AIS
If you find any errors in your Annual Information Statement, report it using the feedback mechanism provided. This will ensure corrections in the statement. Remember to avoid underreporting. By reporting errors, you can avoid any potential consequences.
To Wrap it Up!
In conclusion, the Annual Information Statement (AIS) is an important element for all taxpayers across the country. You can use the mentioned steps to check the AIS. Also, remember to report the errors to avoid consequences.
