Page 14 - Banking Finance December 2021

ROUNDUP

in the recent months to take advan- (TDS) on her incomes, advance tax, if "The decision may help the govern-
tage of the low-interest rates in the any, paid by her, tax refund received ment to deliver a subsidised cylinder to
global markets to refinance earlier in a financial year, high-value transac- the very poor families as delivery of it
debt as well as for meeting their busi- tions, among other things. can be authenticated with biometric
ness needs," CARE Ratings said in its It comes handy at the time of filing ITR proof as done in case of foodgrains.
latest debt market review. Pratish Even state government can provide
as one can import the details in it to
Panjabi, Partner at Argus Partners, auto-populate the ITR form. Form 26AS subsidy if these cylinders are sold
attributes the uptake in ECBs to the can be viewed and downloaded on ei- through ration shops as it may curb
economic rebound after the second pilferage," said an official.
ther the TRACES website or through
wave of the pandemic helped by mas- net banking facility of banks. In Noida, the refill of a small cylinder
sive vaccine coverage and fall in global of 5-kg capacity costs around Rs 375
"With all the information available at
interest rates resulting in the cheaper while a new one costs around Rs 1,400
one place, it will assist tax authorities
cost of funds.
during e-assessment and also limit in- which includes regulator also, a retailer
said.
teraction with taxpayers as the au-
Form 26AS to include for- thorities will be able to compare infor- Urging states to take proactive mea-
eign remittance mation available in Form 26AS vis-a-vis sures to increase the financial viability
information reported by a taxpayer in of ration dealers, Pandey said there is
The income tax department notified a
host of new tax-related information to his ITR," said Kumar. a need for sensitisation on potential
be included in Form 26AS. benefits and capacity building of FPS.
Ration shops may soon Department of Financial Services as-
The following eight new inclusions will sured that MUDRA loans to FPS deal-
be incorporated in the annual informa- sell small LPG cylinders ers would be extended by banks for
tion statement, more commonly
and financial products capital augmentation.
known as Form 26AS:
The Centre is planning to allow the sale
Introduction of these new inclusions
of a small LPG cylinder of 5-kg, cur- Cash in use now at record
are in line with the finance minister's
rently marketed by oil marketing com-
announcement in Budget 2020 for a 14.5% of GDP
panies (OMCs) via their retail outlets,
more comprehensive Form 26AS. This The ratio of currency in circulation as
also through the network of 5.32 lakh
move is aimed at increasing the scope a proportion of GDP touched a new
of ration shops as these could be effec-
of the annual information statement high of 14.5% for fiscal 2020-21. The
tive distribution points for the targeted
that will ease income tax return (ITR) surge came as the pandemic increased
consumers.
filing for taxpayers and also help plug the demand for cash and shrunk the
In a meeting with the state govern-
tax leaks. GDP.
ments on enhancing the financial viabil-
"This new reporting in Form 26AS will At the same time, the surge in every
ity of fair price shops (FPS) on Wednes-
help both taxpayers as well as tax au- form of digital payments continues on
day, food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey
thorities in assessing a taxpayer's pro- the fifth anniversary of demonetisation
proposed the idea of selling small cylin-
file and bring better flow of informa- - whether it is Unified Payments Inter-
ders through these outlets, which was
tion between taxpayer and the tax au- face (UPI), credit and debit cards or
supported by representatives of OMCs
thorities," said Shailesh Kumar, Part- FASTag - demonstrating that the shift
who were also present. The PMCs as-
ner, Nangia & Co LLP. to digital as well as cash intensity are
sured that they would provide the nec-
Form 26AS of a taxpayer includes infor- essary support to roll it out in coordina- not mutually exclusive.
mation on tax deducted at source tion with interested states. The post-pandemic increase in cur-

14 | 2021 | DECEMBER | BANKING FINANCE