Section 197A of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 read with Rule 29C of the Income-Tax Rules, 1962 – Deduction of Tax at Source – No Deduction in Certain Cases – Cbdt issues Notification for Amendment of Form No. 15H of the Income-Tax Rules, 1962 Cbdt Press Release, Dated 24/5/2019

Section 87A of the Act has been amended vide Finance Act, 2019 which provides that a resident individual, having total income up to Rs. 5 lakh, shall be entitled to a rebate of an amount being the amount of tax chargeable or Rs. 12,500/-, whichever is less.

However, at present, the note 10 of Form 15H does not take into account the maximum allowable rebate of Rs 12,500/- provided under section 87A as above, which is available to the assessee in respect of the tax calculated on income, there could be cases, where, though income of the assessee would be above the minimum amount chargeable to income-tax, tax liability may be nil after taking into account the rebate available under section 87A. Deduction of tax in such cases may cause undue hardship to senior citizens.

Accordingly, Income-tax Rules, 1962 have been amended by way of insertion of proviso in Note 10 of Form No. 15H and have already been notified vide Notification No. G.S.R. 375(E) dated 22nd May, 2019, so as to provide that the person responsible for paying the income referred to in column 15 of Part I shall accept the declaration in the case of the assessee, being a senior citizen, who is eligible for rebate of income-tax under section 87A, and his/her tax liability is nil after taking into account this rebate.

Section 119 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Income-Tax Authorities – Instructions to Subordinate Authorities – Extension of Due Date for Filing of Tds Statement for Last Quarter of F.Y. 2018-19 from May 31, 2019 to June 30, 2019 & Due Date for issue of Tds Certificate in Form 16 from June 15, 2019 to July 10, 2019 Press Release, Dated 4/6/2019

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had earlier notified amended Form 24Q for filing TDS statement by deductors of tax vide Notification No. 36/2019 dated 12th April, 2019. Subsequently, the File Validation Utility (FVU) for online filing of Form 24Q was updated by NSDL on 21st of May, 2019.

With a view to redress genuine hardship of deductors in timely filing of TDS statement in Form 24Q on account of revision of its format and consequent updating of the File Validation Utility for its online filing, CBDT has ordered the following: (i) Extended the due date of filing of TDS statement in Form 24Q for financial year 2018-19 from 31st of May, 2019 to 30th of June, 2019 and (ii) Extended the due date for issue of TDS certificate in Form 16 for financial year 2018-19 from 15th of June, 2019 to 10th of July, 2019.

Section 90 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Agreement for Exchange of Information between India and Marshall Islands Notified Press Release, Dated 6/6/2019

The Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands for the Exchange of Information with respect to taxes (India – Marshall Islands TIEA) was signed on 18th March, 2016 at Majuro, the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The India – Marshall Islands TIEA has been notified in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary) on 21st May, 2019.

The Agreement enables exchange of information, including banking and ownership information, between the two countries for tax purposes. It is based on international standards of tax transparency and exchange of information and enables sharing of information on request. The Agreement also provides for representatives of one country to undertake tax examinations in the other country.

The Agreement will enhance mutual co-operation between India and Marshall Islands by providing an effective framework for exchange of information in tax matters which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance.