How Should I Handle a Tax Overdue Notice Without My Form 16 from a Previous Employer?

Hi All, Recently, I received a notice email from the income tax department asking for overdue tax for the year 2008-2009. I had changed my organization two years back. I never received any intimation from my employer at that time regarding any overdue tax. Generally, if there is tax overdue, the employer deducts it from the salary if sufficient documents for tax saving are not submitted by the employee. Unfortunately, I have lost the Form 16 for that year.

Employer's Responsibility

As per my understanding, it is the employer's responsibility to collect tax from the employee and deal with the income tax department. If there is some tax overdue, the employee should be notified promptly.

I have salary slips and tax statements of that year with me as PDF documents, which show the required tax paid. The tax amount for which I have received the notice is even higher than the tax amount I have paid. I had requested my previous employer for Form 16 for that year, but their HR department replied that it may take a significant amount of time (up to 3 months).

Seeking Advice

Could you please suggest what I should do? What if the overdue tax (as per the notice from the income tax department) is not paid for a longer period?

Thanks,

Vikas

Steps to Address Income Tax Notice

You may first check the following:

- Had you filed your Income Tax Return for that year? If not, most probably the demand has been raised due to this with a penalty. If you have filed the ITR, please read the order of demand carefully to understand on which account the demand has been raised.

- There may be other reasons like an error in filling your PAN number in the TDS return by your employer, which may lead to non-credit of your TDS in your account or non-deposit of your TDS by your employer. You may ask your employer to furnish a copy of the Challan to confirm the correct deposit of the amount deducted at the source. This can be further compared with the Form 26AS (this will show you the income tax credited to your account), which can be downloaded by registering at https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.

- Another reason may be high-value transactions, which are reported to the Income Tax Department through the Annual Information Return.

It would be better if you consult a Chartered Accountant with all relevant documents. They can guide you properly to tackle the issue.

Regards,
SK