Annual Information Statement: A Detailed Guide on AIS Rolled Out By Income Tax Department

What is the Objective of AIS?

The objectives of AIS are to:

• Provide complete information to taxpayers, including the ability to provide online feedback.
• Encourage voluntary compliance by allowing for seamless prefilling of returns
• Deter noncompliance.

What are the Salient Features of the Annual Information Statement?

A transaction which fulfill the following conditions :

• New data (interest, dividends, securities transactions, mutual fund transactions, international remittance data, etc.) has been included.
• Use of Data Analytics to populate PAN in non-PAN data so that it can be included in AIS.
• Information duplication is eliminated, and a streamlined Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) is generated for easier return filing (pre-filling will be enabled in a phased manner).
• Taxpayers will be able to provide online feedback on the information provided in AIS, as well as download data in PDF, JSON, and CSV forms.
• The AIS Utility will allow taxpayers to view AIS and provide feedback when offline.
• The AIS Mobile App will allow taxpayers to view AIS and provide feedback on their handheld devices.

What are the Different Parts of AIS?

The information displayed on AIS is split into two sections:

• Part- A
  Part-A contains general information about you, such as your PAN, Masked Aadhar Number, Name of the Taxpayer, Date of Birth/Incorporation/Formation, mobile number, e-mail address, and Taxpayer's address.
• PART- B
  TDS/TCS Information: - This section displays information about tax deducted/collected at the source. The TDS/TCS Information code, Information description, and Information value are displayed.
• SFT Information: - Information received from reporting entities under the Statement of Financial Transaction (SFT) is displayed under this heading. It is possible to obtain the SFT code, Information description, and Information value.
• Tax Payments: - This section displays information about tax payments under several headings, such as Advance Tax and Self-Assessment Tax.
• Demand and Refund: - During a financial year, you will be able to see the specifics of the demand made and the refund initiated (AY and amount).
• Other Information: - This section displays details on information obtained from other sources, such as data on Annexure-II salary, interest on refunds, outward foreign remittances/purchases of foreign currency, and so on.

Step-by-step Guide for Accessing AIS through e-Filing Portal

Taxpayers can access their AIS by going to the e-filing portal and logging in with their PAN or Aadhaar number:

• Step 1: Use the URL https://www.incometax.gov.in/ to access the e-filing system.
• Step 2: Click the "Login" button in the top-right corner of the webpage.

  

• Step 3: Enter user ID and click on “Continue”

  

• Step 4: Enter your password and click on “Continue” to navigate to the e-filing portal homepage

  

• Step 5: Click on the AIS tab under the service section

  

• Step 6: On the AIS home page you will see the two different parts

  

Display of Information Reported Under TDS & SFT

Information under TDS

Information under SFT

AIS Preparation Steps

The following are some important steps in the information processing process:

• PAN Population: If the given information does not have a valid PAN, the PAN will be populated based on matching Aadhaar and other essential parameters.
• Information Display: In most cases, the reported information is shown next to the PAN holder. The information display logic for specific information such as property, bank account, Demat account, etc., intends to display information to relevant PAN holders for evaluation and feedback.
• Information Deduplication: When the same information is reported under different information types (for example, interest/dividend reporting in SFT and TDS), the information with the lesser value is tagged as "Information is duplicate / included in other information" by automatic rules.
• Preparation of the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS): After deduplication of information based on pre-defined rules, a taxpayer's aggregated information summary is created by information category. Under each information category, it displays the processed value (i.e. value obtained after deduplication of data based on pre-defined rules) and derived value (i.e. value derived by considering taxpayer feedback and processed value).

AIS Feedback

The taxpayer will have access to AIS data and will be able to provide the following types of responses in response to it.

• Information is correct
• Information is not fully correct
• Information relates to other PAN/Year
• Information is duplicate / included in other information
• Information is denied
• Customized Feedback

Processing of AIS Feedback

The AIS processing approach is as follows:

• The assessee's feedback will be recorded in the Annual Information Statement (AIS), and the reported value and modified value (i.e. the value following feedback) will be displayed separately.
• The assessee's input will be used to update the derived value (the value calculated after taking into account the taxpayer's feedback) in the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS)
• Information in AIS assigned to other PAN/Years will be processed and shown in the taxpayer's AIS using automatic rules.
• If the assigned information is changed or refused, the feedback will be assessed according to risk management guidelines, with high-risk feedback being highlighted for further investigation.