Form No. 61 – Frequently Asked Questions

1. Purpose:

Form No. 61 is an authorisation given by an assessee to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and designated Income-tax authorities to obtain information and records from a financial institution located in a Notified Jurisdictional Area (NJA), for the purpose of claiming deductions in respect of payments made to a financial institution. Form No. 61 enables the Income-tax Department to:

i. Directly seek information from financial institutions in Notified Jurisdictional Areas.

ii. Verify the genuineness of payments and claims of deduction.

iii. Undertake deeper scrutiny of high-risk international transactions

The primary purpose of filing Form No. 61 is to provide an irrevocable authorisation to Indian tax authorities to access financial information in a notified jurisdictional area. This facilitates the exchange of information for tax purposes and ensures compliance with legal and financial regulations related to transactions in such areas.

2. Who should file?

Any assessee who wishes to claim deduction of payments made to a financial institution located in a Notified Jurisdictional Area, while computing his income under the Income-tax Act, is required to file Form No. 61.

3. Frequency & Due Dates:

4. Structure of Form:

The Form No. 61 has following parts:

Part A: It has particulars of the financial institution: Name, address, PAN, email id and contact number.

Authorisation: In this part the applicant authorises the Central Board of Direct Taxes or any Income-tax authority acting on their behalf, to obtain information and records relating to its accounts maintained with the specified financial institution in a Notified Jurisdictional Area.

5. Documents required:

i. Details of payment made to financial institution in Notified Jurisdictional Area.

ii. Supporting documents relating to claim of deduction.

iii. Evidence of the first copy of said Form having been deposited or transmitted to the financial institution

6. Step-by-step process:

Form No. 61 can be filed through online Mode only - through e-Filing portal. The applicant to follow the below steps to fill and submit Form No. 61 through online mode:

Step 1: Log in to the e-Filing portal using your user ID and password.

Step 2: Once logged in, navigate to your Dashboard, then click on e-File > Income Tax Forms > File Income Tax Forms.

Step 3: On the File Income Tax Forms page, select Form No. 61. Alternatively, enter Form No. 61 in the search box to file the form.

Step 4: On the Instructions page, click Let’s Get Started.

Step 5: On click of Let’s Get Started, Form No. 61 is displayed. Select the applicable section and fill all the required details. Click Proceed.

Step 6: On the Preview page, verify the details and click Proceed to e-Verify.

Step 7: Click Yes to submit.

Step 8: On clicking Yes, you will be taken to the e-Verify page, where you can complete the verification process.

After successful e-Verification, a success message is displayed along with a Transaction ID and Acknowledgement Number. Please keep a note of the Transaction ID and Acknowledgement Number for future reference. Download a copy for your records. You will also receive a confirmation message on your email ID and mobile number registered with the e-Filing portal.

As per Rule 125, the assessee shall cause the first copy of the duly filled Form No. 61 to be deposited with or transmitted to the financial institution referred to in section 176. And the second copy of the Form No. 61 along with the evidence of the first copy of said Form having been deposited or transmitted to the financial institution shall be submitted by the assessee to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over him.

7. Withdrawal of Application:

A taxpayer can’t withdraw Form No. 61 after submission.

8. Outcome of Form No. 61:

The Department may obtain records or information from the financial institution. Information received is used for verification of claim of deduction claim, and based on verification, if the Assessing Officer is satisfied with the application, he may allow the deduction in respect of payments made to a financial institution located in a Notified Jurisdictional Area. But, if the Assessing Officer is not satisfied, he may disallow such deduction claims of the applicant.

9. Common Changes made across Forms:

i. To make forms system-friendly and enable e-filing and uploading, grouping of name, address, PAN and Aadhaar has been separated into different boxes.

ii. Assessment/financial/previous year(s) have been replaced with tax year(s).

iii. Sections and clauses have been aligned with amendments in the Income-tax Act.

iv. Currency symbol “Rs.” has been replaced with “₹”.