Handling Late ITR Submissions
Belated ITR can be filed similar to regular ITR, before 31st December, but penalties will be applicable
Lost track of time and missed the income tax return (ITR) filing deadline? You can avail the belated ITR filing option until December 31st and salvage the situation. If dire circumstances cause you to miss this deadline too, you can ask the income tax authorities to condone the delay and get a further extension by filing a of delay request.
Filing Belated Returns
The process of filing belated ITR is quite similar to the regular returns filing process and can be done via the portal directly. However remember to select the “Return filed under section 139(4)” option when selecting the type of returns being filed. You can also use an offline method of filing belated returns. Says Manikandan S, Tax Expert, Cleartax, a tax and financial services fintech, “To do this, download Offline ITR Preparation Utility and prepare the ITR. Once done, upload a .json file on the portal and proceed to verification.”
While better than facing the repercussions of completely not filing your returns, late filing of returns does bear consequences.
Penalty with taxes due
If you have tax payments due, an interest will be charged on the unpaid tax amounts upon availing belated tax filings Says Abhishek Soni, CEO and Founder, #tax2win, a tax e-filing platform, “If you have not paid at least 90% of the advanced tax, interest is charged at one per cent per month from April 1st of the assessment year until the date of payment.” Those unable to file TCS or TDS statements within the due date have to pay a penalty of Rs.10000 to Rs.100000 in addition to the late ITR filing penalty.
Penalty when taxes have been paid
Says Soni, “Even if you've paid your taxes on time, missing the return filing deadline will still result in a late filing fee. Depending on your income bracket, you will have to pay a penalty between Rs.1000 and Rs.5000. Tax saving benefits through deductions and exemptions can’t be availed if ITR filings are delayed. If you are eligible for a refund, filing late can result in a loss of interest on the refund amount, and certain losses (like business loss, capital loss, etc.) cannot be carried forward.” Losses from house property as an exceptional case, can be carried forward even if you are filing a belated ITR.
In extreme cases of non-compliance or where the department has cause to believe that you are trying to escape paying taxes legal action may be initiated against you. Apart from the direct consequences, late ITR filings have cascading impacts on your credit score, loan approvals, and other financial transactions.
