Why is your e-filing faulty?

Defective Returns

Currently CPC is unable to process over 2 lakhs returns which have been classified as defective under  CPC’s business rules. Assessees are requested to avoid errors mentioned below which are among the top reasons for the return to be classified as defective:

1.   ITR 4 – The assessee has not filled Part A P&L or Balance Sheet or both and  gross receipts as per and has entered a positive value in Schedule BP serial no1. This is the single largest reason for returns being classified as defective

2.   ITR 4 – P&L “Sales/Gross receipts of business or profession” is greater than 60 lakhs and AUDIT INFORMATION not completely filled.

3.   ITR 4S – has been filed but presumptive income u/s 44AD is less than 8% of Gross Receipt or Sales  turnover u/s 44AE is less than Rs5000 p.m. per vehicle in case of heavy vehicles or`less than 4500 p.m. per vehicle in case of other vehicles.

4.   ITR 4S – has been filled but Code mentioned under Nature of Business is 601 or 602 or 603 or 604 which are incorrect codes.

5.   ITR 1- Tax Deducted as per Schedule TDS 1 is greater than GTI (Gross Total Income)

6.   ITR 1- Tax Deducted as per Schedule TDS 2 is greater than GTI (Gross Total Income)

7.   Depreciation claimed in Point 42 of Part A – P&L but Schedule DPM /DOA not filled.

8.   Mainly ITR 4- Deduction claimed under Chapter VIA under sections 80IA, 80IB,80IC, 80G but the relevant Schedules not filled

9.   All ITR forms – Brought Forward Loss has been claimed at Point 9 of Part B TI but Schedule CFL (Carried Forward Loss) has not been filled.

10. All ITR forms – No Income details or tax computation has been provided in ITR but details regarding taxes paid have been filled and filed.

11. ITR 6 – Corporate assessee has filed ITR 6 but audit information is incomplete

12. ITR 4 & 5 – In audit information 44AB Flag is Y but Part A P&L and or Part A BS not filled.

13. ITR 4- Part A P&L and Part A BS not filled but entire tax is claimed refund which is more than Rs25,000.

14. ITR 1- 4 – Gender Mismatch – The Gender provided in the return does not match with that appearing in the PAN database.

Call Center to assist in e-filing queries

Income tax e-filing system has given a new call centre number to assessees. This number is to help in e-filing of income tax returns.

New e-filing call center has started working from 15th March 2012. For any query related to online filing of Income Tax Returns, please call 080-25186960 between 9am to 6 pm on all working days. Taxpayers are advised to make use of this facility. 

Average Tax refunds in 2011

The IRS not only doled out fewer tax refunds last year, but it also cut smaller checks with the average refund slipping by nearly $100.
Taxpayers received tax refunds averaging $2,913 in 2011, down 3% from the average refund of $3,003 in the prior year, according to the latest filing statistics released by the IRS.
The agency delivered a total of 109.3 million refunds during the year, adding up to a total of $318.5 billion. That's down slightly from 2010, when 109.4 million refunds were given out, totaling $328.4 billion.

However, add to it a smaller majority who are no longer alive, some illegal immigrants who went back with no forwarding addresses, 401(k) plans and in some states, issues with the social security numbers. Their refunds are held on to by the IRS.

Direct deposit was the most popular way for taxpayers to receive refunds last year, with more than 79 million refunds deposited into accounts -- up 6% from 2010.
More than 75% of taxpayers filed returns using the agency's free online e-filing system, an increase of nearly 14% from the previous year. While the majority of e-filers hired tax professionals to submit their taxes, the number of taxpayers preparing their own taxes jumped by 14%.

The Internal Revenue Service owes refunds to approximately 100,000 tax payers for the past year. However, it is holding onto those tens of millions of dollars as it has not been able to deliver the refunds to consumers owing to mailing address errors.

To avoid missing a refund in the mail, the IRS recommends that taxpayers opt for direct deposit of their returns when they file their taxes.

If you did opt to have a refund check mailed to you this year, you can check the status of your refund and resolve delivery issues by using the"Where's My Refund?" tool on the IRS website.

If you don't check the site, you may have no idea that the IRS has been trying to send you your money. The agency does not contact taxpayers by e-mail or phone when it is unable to deliver a refund check.

Source: Blake Ellis, CNN Money