Pintu Paul (name changed) was working with a reputed media group, but was forced to shift to another media group last year after his salary got delayed for months due to the faltering financial condition of the previous company. Now he is waiting for the Form 16 from the previous company to file his Income Tax Return (ITR) for the Assessment Year (AY) 2019-20 as Form 26AS shows that the tax deducted at source (TDS) from his salary hasn’t been deposited with the Income Tax (I-T) Department yet.

Not only Paul, but other employees – both present and past ones – like Sumana Banerjee (name changed), Rajesh Bisht (name changed), Jasmine Raman (name changed), Atindra Mukhopadhyay (name changed) and many others are also in limbo as the extended ITR filing deadline of August 31, 2019 is also getting closer.

Forget about the EPF (Empolyee’s Providend Fund) money cut from the salary and equal contribution of the employer, hundreds of the employees of the near bankrupt organisation, whose financial health started deteriorating after wasting crores of money in forming an IPL (Indian Premier League) team, are now in dilemma how to file ITR on time and whether to pay tax again to comply with the return filing provisions.

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Without Form 16 and with Form 26AS showing no TDS was deducted and deposited, the only evidence that the tax was deducted from their monthly salary was the salary slips. But can ITR be filed on the basis of salary slips without paying the taxes again?

“Yes, TDS can be claimed on the basis of salary slips,” said CA Karan Batra, Founder and CEO of CharteredClub.com, adding, “However, a computer generated notice would be issued as there would be mismatch in TDS claimed and TDS deposited.”

However, there is nothing to worry about the Income Tax Notice, as Batra has reassured by saying, “The employee can respond to the notice by disclosing salary slips.”

So, in case you are also on a similar boat, like the employees of the financially wrecked company, you may file the return and claim the TDS deduction on the basis of salary slips, but keep the salary slips and other papers ready to support the TDS claims, in case you get a notice.