Missed 31 July ITR deadline? Don’t fret, here’s what you need to know

Are you a salaried employee who missed the 31 July deadline for filing income tax returns for the 2022-2023 Assessment Year?Don’t fret. Here’s what you need to know:First, keep in mind that ITR filing is mandatory for anyone earning over Rs 2.5 lakh in a financial year.In some instances, ITR is mandatory even when an individual does not have taxable income.As per Economic Times, if you were unable to adhere to the 31 July deadline, you can still file your ITR till 31 December. That’s the good news.

But here’s the bad news –  you have to pay late fees and interest (unless you’re below the taxable limit of Rs 2.5 lakh).

Late feeThe income tax return would be called a belated ITR.  If you are filing the belated ITR, you will have to pay a late filing fee under section 234F of the IT Act.If you earn less than Rs 5 lakh, you will have to pay a late filing fee of Rs 1,000 and if you earn above Rs 5 lakh, you will have to pay a late filing fee of Rs 5,000 or Rs 10,000 – plus interest.InterestAs per Business Standard, if there is an unpaid income tax after 31 July, an interest of 1 per cent is levied on the outstanding amount. This is irrespective of whether the tax amount was filed wrong mistakenly or not.The taxpayer will have to deposit the outstanding tax along with the interest, retrospectively from 31 July. The outstanding tax is paid on or after the 5th of any month, the interest of the full month will have to be paid.Also, keep in mind that taxpayers missing the 31 July deadline can’t carry forward or offset losses against the profit or income of the year.What if you can’t file by 31 December?As per Business Standard, Income Tax Returns cannot be voluntarily filed after 31 December of an assessment year. After that, the Income Tax Department will inform you of the needful if and when it picks up your income tax details that are available for inspection.

And you might land up paying a hefty fine or even behind bars.  

"If an earning individual misses to file ITR after the last date of 31 December, 2022, the income tax department may levy penalty of 50 per cent to 200 per cent on taxpayer's actual income tax outgo, in addition to the tax and interest liability till the date a taxpayer files its ITR in response to the income tax notice from the department," Balwant Jain, speaking to Mint, warned.The Mumbai-based tax expert added that the Indian government has the power to initiate prosecution against individuals who missed the 31 December deadline.[caption id="attachment_10297891" align="alignnone" width="640"] Representational image. News18[/caption]"Current income tax rules prescribe a minimum sentence of 6 months of imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 7 years of imprisonment. It is not that the department can launch prosecution against you in each and every instance of failure to file the ITR. The income department can launch prosecution only in case the amount of tax sought to be avoided exceeds ₹10,000,"  Jain added.Though many were hoping for the Centre to extend the tax deadline – as it has done over the past two years – that didn’t happen this time.Over 63.47 lakh income tax returns were filed till 10 pm on Sunday, the last day for filing ITR for the 2021-22 fiscal by salaried individuals, the Income Tax department said.

Till 30 July, more than 5.1 crore tax returns were filed.

Taking the 63.47 lakh returns filed on the last day, the total number of ITRs for the 2021-22 fiscal filed till 10 pm went past 5.73 crore.Giving statistics of the Income Tax Returns (ITR) filed on Sunday, the I-T department tweeted: “63,47,054 #ITRs have been filed up to 2200 hours today and 4,60,496 #ITRs filed in the last 1 hr.” In the last fiscal (2020-21), about 5.89 crore ITRs were filed by the extended due date of December 31, 2021.The department had also asked the taxpayers to seek assistance regarding ITR filing by sending e-mails to orm@cpc.incometax.gov.in or calling help desk numbers 1800 103 0025 and 1800 419 0025.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.