FORM 61A [SFT] OF INCOME TAX ACT

Form 61A is a record of the statement of Specified Financial Transactions which must be furnished under the Income Tax Act, 1961 by certain institutions. Statement of Specified Financial Translations or SFT refers to information related to certain high-value transactions which specified persons are required to report to the income tax department. The SFT was earlier known as ‘Annual Information Return (AIR)’. The objective of SFT was to curb black money and widening the tax base.

APPLICABILITY OF FORM 61A

• A banking company, Cooperative bank
• A non-banking financial company (NBFC)
• Any institution issuing credit card
• Any person covered under audit under section 44AB of the Income Tax Act.
• Post offices
• A Nidhi referred to in section 406 of the Companies Act 2013
• A company issuing bonds or debentures
• A company issuing shares
• A mutual fund institution
• A company listed on the recognized stock exchange
• A trustee of a mutual fund or such other person as authorized by the trustee
• Authorize dealer, offshore banking unit, money changer or any other person defined in FEMA
• Inspector general or sub-registrar appointed under Registration act, 1908

KEY SECTIONS OF FORM 61A

The following are the key sections and details mentioned on a typical Form 61A:

• Full Name
• Permanent Account Number (PAN)
• Folio Number
• Address
• Financial Year in which the transactions carried out are being reported
• Number of Specified Financial Transactions
• Total Value of Specified Financial Transactions carries out in the financial year
• Details of the transactions: date of transactions, name of transacting party, PAN of transacting party, full address, mode of transaction, transaction amount, transaction code, etc.

Note that transactions that must be declared and reported in Form 61A.

TRANSACTIONS TO BE REPORTED

Individuals responsible for furnishing Form 61A	Type of Transaction and limit
Banking Companies and Co-operative Banks	Cash payment for the purchase of POs (Pay orders) / DDs (Demand drafts) for amounts annually totalling Rs 10 lakh or more.
Banking Companies and Co-operative Banks	Cash payment exceeding Rs 10 lakh for purchasing any prepaid RBI instruments like RBI bonds, etc.
Banking Companies and Co-operative Banks	Deposits or withdrawals amounting to Rs 50 lakh or more from any number of current accounts of a person with the bank.
Banking Companies, Co-operative Banks and Post Offices	Deposit totalling Rs 10 lakh or more in bank accounts, other than current or time deposit accounts, of a person.
Banking Company, Co-operative Bank, Post Master General of Post office, Nidhi	Cash payment aggregating to INR 1 lakh or more in a year or Rs 10 lakh or more in any other mode of payment against any credit card bill which is issued to a customer in a year
A company or an institution issuing debentures or bonds	Receipt exceeding Rs 10 lakh or more in a year from an individual for acquiring such debentures/bonds
A company issuing shares	Receipt exceeding INR 10 lakhs in a year from an individual for acquiring such shares. This includes share application money received.
Listed companies	Share buyback from a person for an amount totalling Rs 10 lakh or more
Manager/Trustee of a Mutual Fund	Receipt equal to or exceeding Rs 10 lakh in a year from an individual acquiring the units of such Mutual Fund
A Dealer of Foreign Exchange	Receipt from a person for sale of a foreign currency or expenses incurred in such foreign currency via a debit/credit card or via the issue of draft or traveller’s cheque or any other financial instrument for an amount annually totalling Rs 10 lakh or more.
Inspector-General/Sub-Registrar appointed under the Registration Act, 1908	Sale/Purchase by a person of immovable property for Rs30 lakhs or more of sale value or value as per the stamp valuation authority.
Persons liable for audit u/s 44AB of the Income Tax Act	Cash receipt exceeding Rs 2 lakh by a person for sale of goods or rendering of services (other than the ones specified above)

DIFFERENT PARTS OF FORM 61A

Form 61A has two parts:

Part A contains statement level information which is common for all transaction types. Based on the transaction type, the report level information has to be reported in one of the following parts:

• Part B (Reporting of aggregated financial transactions by the person)
• Part C (Reporting of bank accounts)
• Part D (Reporting of immovable property transactions)

PROCEDURE TO FILE SPECIFIED FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS[SFT] ONLINE

• Register on the Reporting portal under ‘My Account‘ menu.
• All statements uploaded to the Reporting Portal should be in the XML format consistent with the prescribed schema published by the Income Tax Department.
• Once XML is generated, sign and encrypt the XML using the Submission utility and prepare a package to be uploaded.
• Submit the statement on Reporting Portal.
• Upon successful submission, an email with “Acknowledgment Number” will be sent to the registered email id.

DUE DATE & PENALTIES

• Due date for submitting Form 61A for the previous financial year is before 31st May of the applicable assessment year.
• For the initial failure to file Form 61A within the due date, penalty shall be levied under Section 271A of Rs.500 per day.
• The authorities would issue a notice to such an assessee, demanding the assessee to submit the form within 30 days from the issuance of such notice.
• In case of continuous default even after the notice, the penalty would be levied of Rs.1,000 per day.
• The penalty of Rs.1,000 would be calculated after the stipulated time as mentioned in the notice expires.

CONSEQUENCES FOR FILING DEFECTIVE FORM

• If the reporting entity or individual discovers any inaccuracy or discrepancy in the information provided in Form 61A then it shall make the required corrections with the authorities within 10 days.
• In case the income tax authorities fond out that the report is incomplete or defective, the reporting entity or individual is given 30 days from the date of intimation to rectify it.
• Penalty of Rs.50,000 is levied on the reporting entities and individuals in case:
  • Inaccurate information is provided deliberately.
  • Inaccurate information is submitted but does not inform it and does not correct it within 10 days.