Circular No. 27/2016 — Circular No. 27 of 2016

What this is

Circular No. 27/2016 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 14 July 2016. Its subject is Circular No. 27 of 2016.

This is a clarification. The Board is stating how it reads a provision. That reading binds the department; it does not bind a court, and where the section says otherwise the section wins.

What it does

Clarifies that a declaration under the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 may be revised on or before the date of closure of the Scheme, 30 September 2016, provided the undisclosed income in the revised declaration is not less than the undisclosed income already declared. The Scheme came into effect on 1 June 2016 and this follows the earlier sets of answers in Circular Nos. 17, 24 and 25 of 2016.

Why it was issued

Further queries were received from the public on the Scheme and the Board issued this to address them.

Who it reaches

Declarants under the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 who found an error in a declaration already filed
Advisers preparing declarations before the closing date

The instrument, as the Board published it

The department publishes this one only as a PDF, so the words below were read out of that PDF by machine. That reading can carry its own mistakes — a misread number, a broken line. Check the signed document before you rely on a figure in it. The reading also stopped short of the end of the document: what is below is the opening, not the whole of it.

Circular No. 27 of 2016
F.No.142/8/2016-TPL
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
(TPL Division)
***
Dated 14th day of July, 2016
Clarifications on the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016
The Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Scheme') came into effect on 1st June, 2016. To address doubts and concerns raised by the stakeholders, the Board has issued three sets of FAQs vide Circular Nos. 17, 24 & 25 of 2016. In order to address further queries received from the public relating to the Scheme, following clarifications are issued.-
Question No.1: Can a declaration made under the Scheme be revised before the date of closure of the Scheme i.e. 30.09.2016?
Answer: It is expected that the declarations made under the Scheme are filed correctly. However, a revised declaration can be filed on or before the date of closure of the Scheme provided the undisclosed income in the revised declaration is not less than the undisclosed income declared in the declaration already filed.

What to watch

A revision could only go up, not down — a revised declaration showing less undisclosed income than the first was not permitted.
The revision window closed with the Scheme on 30 September 2016, so the clarification is spent.
The Board records the expectation that declarations be filed correctly in the first place; revision was the exception, not a routine facility.

Where you meet it

When reconstructing what was declared under the 2016 Scheme for a year, and whether a second filing was a valid revision or a fresh declaration.

What it names

It mentions. Circular No. 27/2016

← Circular No. 28/2016 · Circular No. 26/2016 →

A circular binds the department, not you and not a court. The Board issues a circular to its own officers. An assessee may hold the department to a circular that helps him; the department cannot hold an assessee to one that hurts him, and the Tribunal and the courts decide the law for themselves.

Source: the Income Tax Department’s own published text — its page for this instrument.