Tax Tips: Income Tax Department advised the taxpayers to review these things before filing ITR..

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has advised all taxpayers to review their foreign income and assets before filing their In-Tax Return (ITR) and then fill in the information on that basis.

This advice was given to the taxpayers in the special edition of the Income Tax Department 'Samvad'. This campaign has been started to make taxpayers aware. According to this campaign, the taxpayer should give information about the foreign income and assets in the ITR only after carefully reviewing them.

During the session, CBDT Commissioner (Investigation) Shashi Bhushan Shukla said that all Indian citizens have to give information about foreign assets including bank accounts, real estate, shares, and insurance policies that they own.

He further said that the Income Tax Department has given a step-by-step guide in the ITR form "Foreign Assets and Income". With the help of this guide, they can give information about foreign income and property. He emphasized that this rule applies to resident taxpayers. Information about this is given in Section 6 of the Income Tax Act.

Shukla clarified that according to the rules, a resident taxpayer has stayed in India for at least 182 days during the previous year or who has stayed in India for 365 days during the last four years. If a taxpayer does not meet these criteria, he will be considered a non-resident. A non-resident does not need to declare foreign income and property.

Confusion cleared
Many times taxpayers who do not have any foreign income or property, still give information about it in ITR. In such a situation, to end the spreading confusion, Shukla made it completely clear which taxpayers have to give information about foreign property and income. He also said that if a taxpayer has bought a property abroad and no income is coming from it, then also information about that property should be given in ITR.

If an NRI comes to India and gets Indian citizenship, then he will also have to give information about his foreign property and income. This rule also applies to foreign citizens when they become Indian citizens.