Late Fees Payable for Default in Furnishing of Income Tax Return (ITR)

Income Tax Returns are filed by all the persons as per legal provisions. To file the returns, Income Tax Department has set due dates. These due dates are different depending on the type of assessee. After the due date is over, though it is still possible to file the return but we have to bear the consequences of being late. In this article, our scope of discussion will be Penalty for Late Filing of Income Tax Return.

Who needs to file the Income Tax Return?

As per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, any person whose income exceeds basic exemption limit is supposed to file the return. The basic exemption limit applicable for AY 2021-2022 is:-

In addition to this in following circumstances also return filing is compulsory-

• Deposit of amount or aggregates of amount exceeding Rs 1 crore in one or more current accounts.
• Incurred expenditure of an amount or aggregate of amount exceeding Rs. 2lakhs for travel to a foreign country for yourself or any other person
• Incurred expenditure of amount or aggregate of amount exceeding Rs. 1 lakh

on consumption of electricity.

• Where a person is a signing authority for any located outside India.
• If a person holds an asset outside India or is a beneficiary of any asset located outside India.
• To carry forward and set-off losses.
• If a person wishes to claim refund or relief from Double Taxation.

Relevance of Extension of Due date

Normally the due date to file return is 31^st July of every year for previous year. In case of person eligible for tax audit and involved in transactions related to Transfer Pricing etc. dates are different. However, due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the government is giving extension.

Here, we must understand the relevance of extension of due date. Income Tax Return can be filed even after the due date then why due date has to be extended. This is because, as per law penalty etc are levied if return is filed after due date. So, if due date is extended than one gets saved from levy of penalty etc.

Due Dates of Filing the Income Tax Return

For AY 2021-22 following are the due dates for filing income tax return-

Now, if the returns filing is done within the dates mentioned above then there will be no Penalty for Late Filing of Income Tax Return.

Penalty for Late Filing of Income Tax Return

Sec.234F of the Income Tax Act contains the provisions for Penalty for Late Filing of Income Tax Return. Filing the return beyond the due date, it will attract penalty as follows:-

However, as due date itself is 31^st December for AY2021-2022 the penalty leviable will be Rs.10000/- or Rs.1000/- as the case may be.

What happens if penalty is wrongly levied?

Recently it is in the news everywhere that penalty is charged on Income Tax Returns even when due date is still there. Well, that is because of technical glitch in the IT portal. Rs.5000 is charged as penalty these days as you can see from above table. The penalty however is wrong as the due date for filing income tax return is still not expired.

Now, in these cases of course one can wait for the technical solution of this problem. However, some persons have paid the penalty amount along with tax payable and filed their return. In such cases, method is to file revised return and claim the refund for amount wrongly paid

Conclusion

In this article, our aim was to explain to our readers the concept of Due date. It is better to file the returns in time than facing the penalty issues. The extension of due date means that, till the extended date there will be no penalty. For all purposes the return would be considered as filed in time i.e. within due date. The penalty for Late Filing of Income Tax Return will be levied only if return is filed beyond due date.