Income tax filing: missing January 10 due date would immediately attract double the fee

To ensure that assessors file their income tax return (ITR) on time, provision for a late payment surcharge of up to Rs 10,000 was introduced into the 2017 Union Budget. Consequently, section 234F has been inserted In the Law of Income Tax on Supply of income return.

According to u / s 23F provisions, filing a return of income after the due date, but on or before December 31 of the evaluation year, would attract a delay of Rs 5,000 and a fee of Rs 10,000 on any other case. But in cases where the total income does not exceed Rs 5 lakh, the fee amount will not exceed Rs 1,000.

“The provisions of Section 234F of the Income Tax Act of 1961 (‘the IT Act’) establish the imposition of a penalty in case the taxpayer evaluates the filing of the return beyond the due date. as mentioned in Section 139 (1) of the TI Act. The amount of this penalty is 5,000 rupees if the declaration is filed until December 31 of the evaluation year and would be increased to 10,000 rupees for filing the declaration beyond that date. Also, in the case of taxpayers whose total income does not exceed Rs 5 lakh, such late filing fee would be limited to Rs 1000 ”, says Dr. Suresh Surana, Founder of RSM India.

Typically, unless extended, the deadline for submitting ITRs for individuals / HUFs / organizations, where no audit is needed is July 31 of the assessment year and where audit is required, the deadline is September 30.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic and the national lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the virus have resulted in an extension of the deadline for compliance with various taxes, including the expiration date for submitting ITRs for the evaluation year (AY ) 2020-21.

Income tax return: whether to show pending salary, contributions in ITR or not

As a result, instead of July 31, 2020, the due date for filing the return was extended first to November 30, 2020, then to December 31, 2020, and finally to January 10, 2021.

While the late fee of up to Rs 5,000 is charged from the end of the due date to December 31 of the financial year, it is doubled after that.

So how much penalty would you have to pay for failing to meet the extended due date of January 10, 2021?

“The CBDT has extended the due date for filing tax returns in the case of assessors to whom the audit is not applicable until January 10, 2020, however, there was no consequential relaxation in case of tax rates. late filing u / s 234F. Any appraised who files the return until January 10, 2020, to whom that expiration date corresponds, would not be subject to late filing fees u / s 234F of the IT Law. However, any delay beyond January 10, 2020 would result in a penalty of Rs 10,000 u / s 234F ”, says Dr. Surana.

So not Rs 5,000, but the double late fee will be charged immediately, if you miss the due date of Jan 10, 2021 (unless it is extended further) if you do not file your ITR for AY 2020-21 in that moment.