Tax payers baffled as IT Dept issues demand notices as old as 4 years

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 16

Tax payers are getting demand notices by the Income Tax Department which date back to nearly 3 to 4 years.

Baffled at the notices that they have received after so many years, they are now making rounds of the department to know about pending amount that is to be deposited with the department.

Nearly 4,000 tax payers under the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Ludhiana charge, have received the notices.

The notices which were earlier sent through post are now being communicated through e-mail and SMS. The other problem that tax payers are facing is that some do not check emails regularly and some have given the e-mail ids and phone numbers of their respective advocates and chartered accountants, while logging in to the website to fill their annual income-tax return.

Amit Kumar Singla, a tax payer, has received a demand notice from the department for the year 2012-13 due to Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) mismatch. “I was shocked to receive this demand notice for 2012-13 and no specific reason has been given for it,” he said.

He said the notice mentions that the demand may have been caused by incorrect tax or interest computation or due to any incorrect deductions or exemptions. The mail further says that the department feels that the tax demands computed by the department are correct and payable by the tax payer. 

“If there is any pending amount, the department should at least mention the details of the same. The mail has been sent by the Central Processing Center, Bangalore. Now, I will have to go to the local office to know if any amount is pending with the department,” he said. 

The problem does not end here, advocates and CAs who are getting notices on behalf of their clients are also facing a tough time. CA Rohit Singla said he had received a demand notice on behalf of one of his clients. The demand stands back to two years. “I called up my client and told him about the demand notice according to which Rs 78,000 is to be paid to the department, but my client did not take me seriously, as he has not received any communiqué from the department. He is expecting a notice through post, but since notices will not be sent through post, the amount will remain unpaid and can cause further complication to my client,” he said. State president of Indian Taxation Advocates Association, Jatinder Khurana, said the department should mention the reason behind sending demand notices. “I also got a few messages on behalf of my clients regarding notices. It has become very difficult to make them understand the reason behind getting such notices,” he said.