New Delhi, February 27: The Election Commission (EC) has introduced changes on filing norms for the candidates planning to fight the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Ahead of Polls, Seven New Political Parties Seek Registration From Election Commission of India.

The candidates will now have to mandatorily mention their IT (Income Tax) returns of the last five years. Earlier, the candidates were required to reveal only the IT return filed of past one year. Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Opposition Leaders Meet Election Commission, Demand Counting of 50% of VVPAT Slips.

The candidates will also have to furnish all details of their offshore assets.

Not just the candidate, but the new rules will apply to the spouse and members of the Hindu Undivided Family including the dependents. The new changes were introduced in Form 26 which was notified by the Law Ministry on February 26, Tuesday.

Any candidate fighting an election has to file an affidavit known as Form 26, along with the nomination. The nomination contains details related to the candidate such as assets (movable and immovable).

Earlier, candidates were not supposed to reveal information about their foreign investments. But the new proposal, makes it compulsory for the candidates to reveal their foreign investments.

Another significant and clear message by the EC to candidates is that on the (Permanent Account Number) PAN details. Candidates were required to file their PAN details in Form 26 and also of their spouse and dependents. However, many candidates skipped the PAN details. Now, the new rules make it mandatory for candidates to mention "No PAN allotted" if they are not filing PAN number.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 27, 2019 10:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).