Recently there has been news of bogus claims of IT refunds to the tune of 48 crores and few so called consultants were arrested. It came in the news that these consultants were charging heir fee as a percentage of refunds.

A professional does not charge his fees as a percentage of the outcome. Ever heard of a doctor charging fees differently if the baby is a male or female?

The Government is fully armed with softwares to identify any excess claims. Now that PAN and Aadhar are linked, any savings can easily be traced by the Income Tax department. All transacion are linked to PAN. For lat over a decade, banks insist on KYC even to open a savings bank account, leave alone investments

If a person takes up any eligible savings such as Insurance premium, Purchase of SSC etc., one has to furnish the details of PAN and Aadhar as a matter of KYC. When premium is paid, the payment is from a bank which is already paired with the PAN which was furnished at the time of opening the bank account.

When a person claims deductions under S 80, the PAN is cross matched with the Insurance policies, Housing loans, etc to validate the claim. Any false claims are immediately thrown up and investigated.

Similarly claiming deduction for House rent allowance is cross checked with the house owner to check if the same income if disclosed by the owner

Genuine claims are appreciated and false claims are rejected.

Income tax department has made enquiries and gathered that it is those so self styledconsultants who lure innocent persons to make false claims and knock off a percentage of the refund.

The department has identified the consultants with the IP address of the consultants who filed hundreds of returns and made refund claims. Those consultants have been arrested and being legally proceeded against.

The Government has announced an opportunity to all thiose who claimed false deductions to file a revised return with correct claims. The last date forrectifications is 31.12.2023

Please keep in mind that the consultants are punished alright but the person who validted the return is also at fault for claaiming a wrong deduction and the depertment closes in on to them sooner or later.

Plan your taxes peroperly. Seek consultancy from professionals and not these half baked self styled consultants.

Government has many options to save. Save wisely, and do not get caught napping.