NEW DELHI: For any common citizen, who doesn’t have to get their accounts audited, the last day for filing an income tax return (ITR) is 31 July. For the last two years, the government extended the due date for filing the ITR forms due to the Covid-19 pandemic and glitches in the revamped income-tax e-filing portal, but generally, the deadline is July 31. So, what happens in case you miss filing ITR on time?
Penalty
If you have missed the deadline for filing ITR, you can still file it by 31 December 2022. This ITR is called a belated return. However, the belated filing of the ITR comes with certain consequences. You will have to pay a late fee of Rs 5,000 if your income is above Rs 5 lakh per annum and Rs 1,000 in case it is below Rs 5 lakh per annum.
“Carry forward of losses (other than the loss from house property), if any, is not allowed if you miss the due date such as losses on the sale of property/shares/capital assets,” Sudhir Kaushik, founder, taxspanner.com, said.
For instance, if you have losses from the sale of shares and securities, in a normal course, you can carry forward such losses for 8 years. If in future, you have any gain from the sale of shares and securities, the gain is reduced by the losses for earlier years and only the net gain is charged to tax. Now, if the return is filed late, after 31 July 2022, the taxpayer cannot avail of this benefit of carrying forward losses. Similar is the case where the taxpayer has sold an immovable property which results in a loss for tax purposes, particularly because of the indexation benefit.
Interest on tax liability
The third impact comes by way of interest. If you file your return late and there is any tax payable at the stage of filing the return of income, you are liable to pay interest @ 1% per month for delayed filing of the tax return. This interest is in addition to the penalty that is payable on delayed payment of taxes.
No revision of ITR
When you have filed the ITR in time but happen to discover any error or mistake in the ITR, you can correct the same by filing a revised ITR by 31 December 2022. “The taxpayer can file a revised ITR any number of times if the original return is filed within the due date. This benefit of revising the ITR is not available if the original ITR is filed late. Therefore, while filing a belated ITR, the taxpayer should be extra cautious and ensure that the ITR is correct in all respects, since mistakes in a belated ITR cannot be corrected,” Chetan Daga, Partner at AdvantEdge Consulting Group said.
The Government launched an annual information system (AIS) last year in November which contains all the details of savings bank interest, dividends, capital gains and share transactions. So, it is important for the taxpayers to check both the AIS and Form 26 AS for any mismatch. Instances are not uncommon where taxpayers observe that information reflected on the AIS is not correct or is partly correct, say experts.
“AIS is not binding on the taxpayer, so a taxpayer can report numbers on the tax return that are different from the AIS; however, if the particulars reported on the tax return are substantially different than the AIS, the Tax Department may seek reasons for the variation. Additionally, taxpayers
should note that the AIS portal has a facility to submit feedback for incorrect or inaccurate entries.
Where a taxpayer believes that certain information on his AIS is incorrect, he can avail the benefit of the feedback mechanism. Taxpayers reporting information on the ITR that is different from the AIS should ensure that the variations are genuine and supported by adequate evidence,” Daga stated.
What if the taxpayer misses the final due date of 31 December 2022 for ITR related to FY22? Well, in such cases, the law does not support filing the tax returns beyond 31 December. For such a taxpayer, the ITR can be filed if the Tax Authorities issue a notice for non-filing of ITR wherein additional time is provided to file the ITR. Another option that is available, is to file an application to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for condoning the delay in filing the ITR.
“Application to CBDT can be sustained only if there is a genuine reason beyond the control of the taxpayer, which prevents the taxpayer from filing the ITR. This route, therefore, is for truly deserving and exceptional cases and not as a general norm of seeking relief,” Daga added.
Important points to note about ITR
Those less than 60 years of age with an income of Rs 2.5 lakh per annum need to file ITR.
Those above 60 years of age but less than 80 years with an annual income of more than Rs 3 lakh per annum need to file ITR.
Senior citizens above 80 years of age with a yearly income of more than Rs 5 lakh are also required to
file ITR.
Taxpayers with annual income up to Rs 5 lakh will need to pay a late fee of I1,000.
You can file belated ITR by December 31, 2022.
On belated ITR, you will have to pay a late fee.
Those with income over Rs 5 lakh per annum, will have to pay I5,000 as a late fee penalty.
You will also have to pay interest on late payment of taxes and also for delayed filing of return.