By CA Gauri Chadha
The last date of filing Income Tax Return for the financial year 2019-20 has been extended the second time, and now one can file their IT return till December 31st 2020 and cases that require audit have time until January 31st 2021. But don’t delay your return filing because your laxity will have monetary consequences. If you miss the deadline, a late penalty fee under section 234F of the Income Tax Act will be imposed. There was no late filing penalty before 2017. The taxpayer had the option of filing a belated return without any charges, but this rule changed post-Budget 2017.
If you don’t file your return by December 31st 2020, then be ready to pay a late fee up to Rs 10,000.
The penalty that you have to pay-
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If an individual files a late return but his/her taxable income is not more than Rs 5 lakh after claiming all the deduction, then he/she is liable to pay a penalty of Rs 1000
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If the income is above Rs 5 lakh and the return is filed after the due date but before December 31st of the relevant assessment year then a late filing fee of Rs 5000 will be levied ( so this fine may not be applicable this year because the end of AY is December 31st and that coincide with the last date of return filing)
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If the return is filed after December 31st till March 31st which is the last date to file the belated return penalty in such a case will be Rs 10,000.
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No late filing fees penalty will be charged for return filed after the deadline if the total gross income does not exceed the basic exemption limit. The basic exemption limit for individual below the age of 60years is Rs 2.5 lakh, for senior citizen age between 60- 80 years basic exemption is Rs 3 lakh, and for super senior citizen above the age of 80 years and above, the basic exemption limit is Rs 5 lakh.
So file your return on time to avoid a late fee. Other than late fee late filing of return will have two fallouts- you will not be allowed to carry forward your losses from business and capital loss from one FY to other if the due date does not file ITR. However, you can carry forward loss from house property. You would also lose out on interest if there is any tax refund. The interest on a tax refund is calculated from April 1st of the relevant assessment year, but in case of a belated return, interest will be calculated from the date of filing ITR.
