Days after many income taxpayers were sent notices mistakenly for incorrect claims of tax deductions under Section 80P, the Income Tax Department clarified that the error was made.
Responding to a query from a taxpayer, chartered accountant Nirav Choksi on X (formerly Twitter) said, the tax department assured that they would send an email communication to address the issue as soon as possible.
Choksi tweeted on September 1, mentioning the futility of response that Section 80P is not applicable to businesses. A worthless exercise of responding to such system-generated issues has to be acted upon. Tagged @IncomeTaxIndia, in the tweet.
In response, the Income Tax Department acknowledged the mistake and stated that they had inadvertently sent an Intimation under Section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The error described that “In Schedule 80P, deduction under Section 80P(2)(e) cannot be claimed on income other than rental income.” They expressed regret for any inconvenience and confirmed to send an email communication promptly.
Read also: A Guide to Tax Deductions U/S 80P for Co-operative Society
During the last week, hundreds of taxpayers sought assistance from their tax consultants after receiving these notices, despite having e-verified their returns before the August 31 deadline. These notices were related to deductions that did not pertain to individuals but rather sent to cooperative societies.