The last chance for filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) for the financial year 2022-23 is no longer a distant deadline, but an immediate obligation as the year comes to a close. If you haven’t filed your ITR yet, December 31, 2023, is your final opportunity to do so but it comes with penalties and interest for late filing.
According to Section 234F of the Income Tax Act, a delay in filing attracts a late filing fee of Rs 5,000 for those who fail to file their tax returns before the normal due date. This amount is reduced to Rs 1,000 for those taxpayers whose total income does not exceed Rs 5 lakhs.
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Furthermore, interest is also levied on belated filing of returns. “In case of late filing of return, taxpayer will be liable to pay interest under section 234A at the rate of 1% for every month, or part of a month, on the amount of unpaid tax amount,” said Sanjoli Maheshwari, Executive Director, Nangia Andersen India.
If you miss the final deadline of December 31, 2023, heavy financial implications follow. “Once this deadline of 31 December is passed, penalties and interest will be imposed on the taxpayer. However, the taxpayer can still file an updated tax return within 24 months of the end of the relevant assessment year, with an imposition of additional income tax and penalty. An updated return cannot be filed to claim a refund of tax paid,” said Yeeshu Sehgal, Head of Tax Market, AKM Global. So, for the current FY 2022-2023, ITR-U can be filed up till March 31, 2026.
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“If the taxpayer misses the deadline of filing belated return then he or she will not be able to file ITR for FY 2022-23 except if the notice is received by the Income Tax Department to file the ITR. Alternatively, if ITR filing is missed because of “genuine reasons,” then one may file a condonation of delay request under section 119 and ask the income tax authorities to condone the delay stating the reason for missing the deadline. The penalty will be Rs10,000 in this case and interest will be levied at 1% until the said return is filed. Also, the failure to file the ITR may lead to prosecution under section 276 CC of the Income-tax Act,” explains Sehgal.
Procrastination is a costly affair when it comes to filing your ITR. The costs can be high and time, once gone, never returns. As Benjamin Franklin rightly remarked, ‘Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.
