6 MinsSep 6, 2022
This year, the government did not provide any relief to individual assesses (and Hindu Undivided Families, Body of Individuals, and Association of Persons, partnership firms, etc.) by extending the due date to file Income Tax Returns (ITR) beyond July 31, 2022, for the Assessment Year 2022-23. If you missed filing your ITR, no worries. You can now file a ‘Belated Return’.
A Belated Return is filed any time after the due date but within three months before the end of the relevant assessment year or before completion of the assessment, whichever is earlier. Effectively, the date for filing the Belated Return for
AY 2022-23 is December 31, 2022.
That said, on filing a Belated Return, as an assessee or taxpayer you would be liable to pay interest of @1% per month for every month or a part of month on the tax due (outstanding amount) or part thereof until the ITR is filed as per the provisions
of Section 234A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. This is to be calculated from the actual due date of filing the tax returns i.e. 31st July, 2022.
If there is no tax payable, there will be no interest payable while filing the Belated Return.
As per Section 234F, a penalty of Rs 5,000 needs to be paid if one files belated ITR after July 31 by taxpayers with total income of Rs 5 lakh and above. For taxpayers with less than Rs 5 lakh total income, the fine amount is Rs 1,000. while those
who are exempt from paying income tax do not have to pay any penalty
While filing the Belated Return, in the case you realise that a mistake is committed, a revised return can always be filed.
Also Read: [Confused which income tax regime to opt for?]
But keep in mind, here are a few demerits when you file a Belated Return…
- If there is a refund (due to tax deduction at source, tax collected at source, and advance tax) you may face a delay in receiving the refund.
- Carry forward of losses under the head of income capital gain, business & profession, and income from other sources is disallowed (Only losses under the head income from house property can be adjusted).
Overall, in the aforesaid cases, you, the assessee or the taxpayer are losing out.
As regards, the process of filing a Belated Return is concerned, it remains the same as with the case of filing your ITR on or before the usual due date. When filing a Belated Return, make sure you are picking the correct section applicable to
you and the correct assessment year.
After you filed the Belated Return, do not forget to verify the returns within 30 days. The Belated Returns could be e-verified by logging into the Income Tax Department’s website, or you may send a hard copy of the ITR-V duly signed by
you and physically mail it to the Centralized Processing Centre, Income Tax Department, Bengaluru, via ordinary post or registered post.
Disclaimer: This article has been authored by PersonalFN, a Mumbai-based Financial Planning and Mutual Fund research firm. Axis Bank doesn't influence any views of the author in any way. Axis Bank & PersonalFN shall not be responsible for any direct / indirect loss or liability incurred by the reader for taking any financial decisions based on the contents and information. Please consult your financial advisor before making any financial decision.
