A week to go for Income Tax Return Filing - Act on time if you expect a Bronze / Sliver / Gold 'Certificate of Appreciation' from IT

Indians are getting ready to file their Income Tax Returns. After extensions, the last date for filing individual tax returns for AY20-21 filing is 31st December 2020, and most likely it won't be extended again.

Some Indian Income tax payers are eligible to receive a "Certificate of Appreciation" from the Income Tax Department. 

This initiative of the Modi government is a step towards acknowledging the contribution of taxpayers.  Taxpayers are eligible to receive a certificate of appreciation based on the amount of tax they paid. Depending on the amount of tax paid, the four categories identified by CBDT for individual taxpayers are:

• Platinum: For those taxpayers who have contributed Rs 1 crore and above as tax 
• Gold: For those taxpayers who have contributed between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore as tax 
• Silver: For those taxpayers who have contributed between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 50 lakh as tax 
• Bronze: For those taxpayers who have contributed between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh as tax

Taxpayers should also note that taxpayers may not qualify for a certificate of appreciation from the Income Tax (IT) department if they happen to file your tax return after the due date or have got a notice with a query for any previous year despite being an honest tax payer. 

Of course, not all taxpayers are happy with the move. Some prefer to remain anonymous and don't want to be called out as a High Net worth taxpayer. According to an article in Economic Times 

"This new initiative by the revenue department has spooked several high net-worth individuals (HNIs), while some others are happy with the idea. With income-tax offices across India set to invite up to top 100 tax payers in their regions for felicitation, several of these individuals have red-flagged data-privacy." 

(Tax dept's felicitation of highest tax payers makes HNIs nervous)