ITR Submission Last Chance Income Tax Department Warned to File Belated Return of Deal With Hefty Penalty

The Income Tax Department has issued a warning for taxpayers who missed the July 31 deadline to file their income tax returns (ITR) for the financial year 2022-23. For this, the department has also resorted to social media. Let us tell you, the rules of the Income Tax Department have made it mandatory for every person to file a return of income from the assessment year 2020-21. Three main conditions have also been laid down for those who have to pay income tax, which you can read about below. Apart from this, it has also been warned that if a taxpayer fails to file even a delayed ITR, he may face some “adverse consequences”.

The Income Tax Department in a post on X (formerly Twitter) has explained the difference between revised and delayed ITR to people and has asked them to file their ITR immediately. In its post, the department wrote, “Taxpayers please note, 31 December 2023 is your last chance to file delayed/revised ITR for assessment year 2023-2024. Hurry up! File your ITR before the due date.”

The department has also shared a link to its website, where users can get all the information about filing ITR.

As we mentioned, the Income Tax Department rules have made it mandatory for every individual to file a return of income from the assessment year 2020-21. It also lays down three main conditions for those who will have to pay income tax. The conditions include “if the individual has deposited Rs 1 crore or more in one or more current accounts, has incurred a total expenditure of more than Rs 2 lakh for foreign travel for himself or for any other person and has incurred a total expenditure of more than Rs 1 lakh for payment of electricity bill.”

The department has also said that for those who fail to file income tax returns within the prescribed time limit, a belated return can be filed under section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act. There is no separate form for belated ITR, an assessee has to use the form notified for a particular assessment year.

If a taxpayer fails to file even a belated ITR, he may face certain “adverse consequences”. According to the Income Tax Department, losses (other than income from house property) cannot be carried forward, interest under section 234A and duty under section 234F will be levied, the taxpayer will also not be entitled to exemptions under sections 10A and 10B, and deductions under Part-C of Chapter VI-A will not be available. Section 234F mandates a penalty of Rs 5,000 or Rs 1,000 for small taxpayers and penal interest of 1 per cent per month is applicable under section 234A on pending income tax payments.