About the Income Tax Annual Information Statement (AIS)

The Income-Tax Department has released a new AIS (Annual Information Statement) that incorporates new categories of data such as dividends, interest, mutual fund transactions, international remittances, and securities transactions. This blog will help you gain knowledge about the Annual Information Statement and how it will benefit the taxpayer. Let’s take a look at what Form 26AS is before moving on to AIS (Annual Information Statement).

What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS contains information about the income tax deduction related to TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) or TCS (Tax Collected at Source) from the income of a Taxpayer. The deductor subsequently deposits the tax deducted with the government. Form 26AS has been modified to include information on the refund amount, self-assessment tax, and advance tax.

Suggested Read: How to get errors corrected in form 26AS under Income Tax Act?

What is an AIS (Annual Information Statement)?

In Form 26AS, AIS is a comprehensive picture of information for a taxpayer. Additional information on interest, dividends, securities transactions, mutual fund transactions, international remittance information, and other topics is included in the new AIS. The taxpayer will get access to AIS data in PDF, CSV, and JSON formats. A taxpayer can give comments on the data presented in AIS. Under each part, AIS displays both the reported value and the updated value i.e., the value after considering taxpayer comments (i.e. SFT, TDS, and Other information).

What types of information does the Annual Information system (AIS) display?

AIS is divided into two parts – Part A contains general information, and Part B contains all the information related to the TDS, demand and refund, SFT, and other information.

Part A

General information such as masked Aadhaar Card Number, PAN details, contact details of the Taxpayer, name of the Taxpayer, Date of Birth (In case of the individual taxpayer) / Date of Formation or incorporation (In case of non-individual).

Part B

SFT – The information obtained from reporting entities is shown in the Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT). It is possible to obtain the SFT code, Information description, and Information value.

Demand and Refund – During a fiscal year, details of the demand made and the reimbursement began (assessment year and amount).

TCS/TDS Information – Information such as description and value is shown, information code of the TCS/TDS, and information related to the TCS/TDS will be displayed here.

Other Information – The data relevant to Interest on refund, Annexure-II salary, purchase of foreign currency/outward foreign remittance, and other information acquired from other sources are displayed here.

Benefits of Annual Information Statement (AIS)

• The Annual Information Statement (AIS) will provide a preview of transactions ahead of time, reducing the likelihood of departmental inquiries and notices, even for minor omissions or errors.
• A facility has been provided for the taxpayer to submit online comments if they believe the information is erroneous, relates to another person/year, or is duplicated.
• Taxpayers can also use an AIS Utility to view AIS and upload feedback in an offline mode. In the AIS, the value after feedback and reported value will be displayed separately in the AIS (Annual Information System).

Salient features of the Annual Information Statement (AIS)

• Taxpayers will be able to view AIS and provide input when offline using the AIS Utility.
• Taxpayers will be able to view the AIS and submit input on their mobile devices via the AIS Mobile App.
• Data Analytics is being used to populate PAN in non-PAN data so that it can be used in AIS.
• Duplicate data is removed, and a streamlined Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) is prepared for simpler return submission (pre-filling will be enabled in a phased manner).

How to access Annual Information Statement (AIS)

1. Log in to the Income-tax e-filing system
2. Enter user details
3. Select the AIS option under the Service tab
4. Access the AIS homepage

The information which Taxpayer needs to keep in mind in context to AIS

Taxpayers should keep in mind that the Annual Information Statement (AIS) contains information that is currently accessible with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). Taxpayers should review all relevant data and file a report. At the time of filing, taxpayers need to verify that all the information provided should be comprehensive and accurate.

Taxpayers are asked to review the information in the Annual Information Statement (AIS) and provide comments if any of it needs to be changed. When filing the ITR, the value stated in the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) may be taken into account. If the ITR (Income Tax Return) has already been filed and some information has been left out, the return may be updated to add the missing information.

The TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary) has two values: Derived Value and Processed Value, and the TIS will be instantly updated on the internet platform after the taxpayer submits feedback via AIS.

If there is a discrepancy between the TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) or TCS (Tax Collected at Source) information, the details of the tax paid are displayed on the TRACES portal in Form 26AS. The taxpayer can rely on the information on the TRACES portal for filing ITR for other tax compliance purposes if TDS/TCS information relevant to tax payment is shown in the AIS on Compliance Portal.

FAQs on Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) and Annual Information Statement (AIS)

1. What is Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS)?

TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary) is a summary of a taxpayer’s aggregated information by category. Under each information category, TIS displays the derived value (i.e., the value derived after incorporating taxpayer feedback and processed value) and the processed value (i.e., the value obtained after deduplication of information based on pre-defined rules). The generated information in TIS will be used to pre-fill the return if it is relevant.

2. How to Download AIS (Annual Information Statement) – PDF from the IT Portal?

Because the AIS PDF is password protected, the user must input the PAN (in upper case), date of birth (if the taxpayer is an individual), or date of formation/incorporation (if the taxpayer is a non-individual) in the sequence of DDMMYY without any spaces to download the PDF.

3. Is it possible for me to provide feedback on the information displayed in AIS?

A taxpayer can give comments on the data presented in AIS. Each Information detail will display the feedback options. You will only be given one of the various options for your feedback. Different feedback options such as information are not fully correct, information is correct, customized feedback, the information relates to other PAN/year, and other feedback information.

4. What happens after I’ve submitted my feedback on the information displayed in AIS?

After successfully sending comments on AIS data, the feedback will be displayed alongside the data, and the revised value of the data will be visible beside the reported value. The Acknowledgement Receipt will be available for download, and the activity history tab will be updated as well. Confirmation of feedback submission will be provided through SMS and email.