An assessee under the Income Tax Act, 1961 is an individual who is liable to pay income tax to the government for a particular financial year. Individuals who have already paid taxes are also considered assessees under the Act. Usually, an assessee is liable to pay taxes for himself, but in some instances, he may also be liable to pay taxes on behalf of someone else. Due to this consideration, the Income Tax Act has classified assessees into different categories. This article gives detailed information about the Income Tax Assessee and various types of assessments under the Income Tax Act.
Did you know?
If an individual's income is less than the exempted limit, they are not considered an assessee.
Also Read: Taxable Income: What is it, and How Can You Reduce It?
Types of Assessee in Income Tax
The Income Tax Act classifies the assessee into four different categories. The categories/ types are mentioned below:
- Normal Assessee.
- Deemed Assessee.
- Assessee in Default.
- Representative Assessee.
Normal Assessee
An individual liable to pay taxes to the government for his income earned for a particular financial year or who has already been paying taxes during the preceding years belongs to the Normal Assessee category. Any individual who makes payments to the government as interest or penalty or is entitled to receive a tax refund under the IT Act too is an assessee and is grouped under the normal assessee category.
Deemed Assessees
An individual given the responsibility by legal authorities to pay taxes for another is a deemed assessee. The considered assesses usually:
- Either the executors or legal heirs of a dead person. The dead person has already passed on the property to the executors.
- If the departed person has not left a will, the elder son or another legal heir can be considered an assessee.
- The guardian of a minor or a mentally unstable person is considered a deemed assessee.
- In the case of a non-resident Indian with sources of income in India, his agent is treated as a deemed assessee.
Assessee-in-Default
An individual who had failed to file his ITR within the stipulated period is an assessee-in-default. An employer comes under this category if he does not submit the TDS deducted from his employees' salaries to the government in time. Before disbursing the compensation, an employer deducts the TDS amount from the same and should submit it to the government. By failing to do so, he becomes an assessee-in-default.
Representative Assessee
Sometimes an individual, besides filing ITR and paying his taxes, must do the same for another party. By doing so, he becomes a representative assessee. This is because he represents an individual(s) who cannot file and pay their taxes for specific reasons. Mostly, non-residents, minors, or mentally unstable persons need this assistance. Their representative assesses they are mostly their guardians or agents.
Also Read: Learn about Exempt Income Under Section 10 of Income Tax in Detail
Income Tax Assessee - Duties and Responsibilities.
An Assessee must file their income tax returns and pay their taxes in time. Sometimes, the assessee fails to file the ITR within the stipulated period. Under such a circumstance, the IT department or the concerned assessing officer might notify the assessee enquiring about the delay.
It becomes mandatory for the assessee to respond to the assessing officer stating the reason behind his inability to file the return in time. He should also see that he files the ITR after receiving the notice, as it is his responsibility to do so.
Following are the duties and responsibilities of an assessee:
Paying Taxes and filing the ITR
- A major responsibility of an assessee (belonging to any category) is to pay the taxes and also file the returns on time for each financial year.
- The tax return should be filed by due date such as 31st July, 30th September, etc., or by the extended date issued by the IT department relevant for each category.
When the Assessee fails to file an ITR during the stipulated period he should do the following:
- Even if the assessee has delayed filing his tax return for a financial year, he must file the ITR immediately after receiving the notice from the department.
- After filing the return, he should request the assessing officer to provide him with a copy stating the reasons for the issuance of the notice.
- If the assessee is not satisfied with the answer to his request and finds that the reasons are not valid, he can file an objection challenging the notice.
- The assessee must make sure that he has enough reasons to take recourse to the law against the notice issued to him by the IT department.
- The assessee can also request the concerned officer provide other reasons if the department does not entertain his claims.
- The assessee may also file a writ petition in the high court challenging the legality of the notice before the completion of the scheduled assessment or reassessment.
- The assessee can carry on the same process even after completing the scheduled assessment.
- The assessee must provide details of the income tax return within thirty days from the notice's issuance date.
- The details of the income for which tax payment was delayed or avoided and other related income details should be submitted to the concerned officer to prevent complications.
- The assessee should clarify that he has requested the assessing officer to explain why the notice was issued.
- He filed an objection against the notice because he found the reasons unsatisfactory.
- Also, he has objected to the validity of the notice knowingly.
Also Read: How To Calculate Income Tax On Shares Selling - Calculate Capital Gains Tax On Shares
Conclusion:
We hope this article has been of help in providing details about the Income Tax Assessee. Here at Khatabook, we provide precise and accurate information to our readers. Any individual who files an ITR and comes under the taxable income bracket is considered an assessee by the Income tax department.
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