Form ITR 1 (Sahaj) for AY 2020-21

ITR-1 return filing is a form for ITR filling which should be used by individuals having a salary, pension, family pension, rental income and other sources of income. ITR 1 requires only the submission of basic details about the assessee and the taxable income. Generally, assessees filing ITR 1 do not need to undergo an audit. It is mandatory to file ITR 1 using the electronic mode. However, for assessees who are aged above eighty years, the return can be filed using a physical copy of ITR 1. On 3^rd January 2020, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued Notification G.S.R.9(E). The notification has introduced additional restrictions regarding the filing of ITR 1. The notification specifies that assessees who fall under the mentioned circumstances should not opt for ITR 1. The mentioned circumstances are jointly owning house property, depositing more than one crore rupees in current accounts, spending more than two lakh rupees on foreign travel, and spending more than one lakh rupees on electricity consumption. The impact of the notification is that assessees who fall under the mentioned circumstances are not allowed to use ITR 1. The notification covers Assessment Years commencing from 2020-21.

Applicability

Form ITR 1 (Sahaj) should be filed only when the following conditions are satisfied:

The assessee is an individual
The assessee falls under the category of an ordinary resident as per Section 6(6) of the Income Tax Act

Incomes Reportable Under ITR 1

ITR 1 is used to report the following incomes:

Salary- Salary should be included under ITR 1 even if the employer has not yet made the payment.
Family pension- Family pension should be included under ITR 1 only if the following conditions are satisfied:
- The pension is payable every month
- The pension is paid to a family member of a deceased employee
- The family member has a right to receive the pension regularly as per the terms of the agreement between the employer and the employee
Income from house property- House property income should be included under ITR 1 only if the following conditions are satisfied:
- The assessee does not have more than one house property
- The assessee does not claim any loss under the house property head
Income from other sources- The assessee may be having income from lottery and income from racing horses. ITR 1 should not be used to report such incomes.

Restriction of ITR 1

ITR 1 should not be used in the following circumstances:

When the assessee owns a house property in joint-ownership
When the assessee has deposited more than one crore rupees in current accounts
When the assessee has spent more than two lakh rupees for undertaking travel to a foreign country (The travel can be made either by the assessee or by another person.)
When the assessee has spent more than one lakh rupees towards the consumption of electricity
When the assessee is the owner of assets located abroad
When the assessee is the beneficial owner of any business enterprise or charitable organisation located abroad
When the assessee is employed as a director in a company
When the assessee was holding unlisted shares during the financial year
When the assessee has appointed a signing authority abroad
When the assessee is obtaining income from outside India
When the assessee is from Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli or Daman and Diu, and is having income which should be allocated between family members as per Section 5A
When the assessee has claimed a deduction under Section 57 (However, ITR 1 can be used when the assessee is claiming a deduction under Section 57 exclusively for family pension.)
When TDS should be deducted on the income of the assessee, but the deduction was made for another person
When the assessee has made a claim for relief under Sections 90, 90A or 91 for avoiding double taxation
When the agricultural income is more than five thousand rupees
When the taxable income of the assessee is more than fifty lakh rupees
When the taxable income of the assessee includes any income exceeding ten lakh rupees by way of dividends from a domestic company
When the assessee has taxable income which is covered by Section 115BBE

Out of the above, the first four restrictions were additionally introduced by the notification with effect from 3^rd January 2020. The notification is given below for reference, together with the format for ITR 1:

Amnesty Scheme

As per latest notification on 10th January 2020, the due date is extended for those who has not submitted ITR-1 from September 2017 to November 2019. The revised due date is 17th January 2020. The relevant notification can be accessed below:

Changes in ITR 1

Compared to the ITR-1 form of previous Assessment Year (AY), the Government of India (GoI) has introduced the following additional fields:

Details of the employer in case the assessee is showing salary income
Details of unrealised rent in case the assessee is showing house property income
Details of deduction claimed under Section 57(iv), if any
Details of Passport