Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 18: Several Assistant Professors posted in different Educational Institutions in Srinagar are using forged documents to evade the Income tax causing huge loss to the State exchequer.
Most of them have forged the documents to show that they are staying at rented accommodations in Srinagar while they have their own houses.
The ground investigation revealed that they have their own residential houses in Srinagar and are not living at rented accommodations.
These professors have submitted the ‘falsifying and forged’ documents to claim tax exemptions or to reduce their tax liability.
An RTI revealed that over 100 Assistant Professors are reducing their tax liability by showing that they are residing at rented accommodation.
However, on ground, the facts are different. These Assistant Professors have their own residential houses in Srinagar. In many cases, we found that the name of landlords they claim to have hired the accommodation at, doesn’t exist on ground.
The tax evasion includes any activity that aims to hide, understate, or falsely report income to reduce tax liability by an individual.
The tax evasion by Professors is bringing the loss of crores of rupees to the State exchequer by cheating.
For most employees, House Rent Allowance (HRA) is a part of their salary structure. Although it is a part of salary, HRA, unlike basic salary, is not fully taxable.
Subject to certain conditions, a part of HRA is exempted under Section 10 (13A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
The amount of HRA exemption is deductible from the total income before arriving at a gross taxable income. This helps an employee to save tax. The HRA received from the employer, is fully taxable if an employee is living in his own house or if he does not pay any rent.
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