Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has put a hold on the new rule that demanded citizens disclose foreign trips taken in a year and the money spent while abroad.

PTI reported, "New income tax return form to be reconsidered andsimplified: Finance Ministry". This comes a day after the revenue department issued guidelines asking taxpayers to furnish foreign trip details while filing their income tax returns for assessment year 2015-16.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes, the apex policy making body of the Income Tax department, had notified new Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for the current assessment year, making some additions to the existing format as part of obtaining new information to check the menace of black money. The new ITR forms, including the ITR-1 and ITR-2, require an assessee to furnish the number of bank accounts held by the individual "at any time (including opened/closed) during the previous year" with the last balance in his or her account on March 31 of the just concluded fiscal.

As per the notification, the assessee would have to disclose passport number, the issuance place of the passport, countries visited, number of times such sojourns made and in case of a resident taxpayer, the expenses incurred from "own sources in relation to such travel.

The move was seen as the government's effort to tackle black money.

(with agencies)