Income Tax Return: Often we keep waiting till the last date for some work. We keep postponing income tax or many such work that tomorrow we will do it… But waiting for the increased last in income tax return filing can be a loss deal.
Like the previous assessment year (AY 2020-21), the last date for filing Income Tax Return (ITR) has been extended in this assessment year (AY 2021-22) also. Due to flaws in the new portal created by Infosys, the last date had to be pushed forward. Earlier the last date to file ITR was 30th September, 2021, which has been extended to 31st December, 2021.
According to the Financial Times, HostBooks Ltd. Kapil Rana, founder and chairman, says, “This step has been taken to provide relief to the taxpayers amid the Kovid-19 epidemic. Apart from this, due to technical glitches in the income tax portal like problems in filing and verifying returns, the central government has extended the deadline for filing returns for the financial year 2020-21.
can’t escape interest
Rana further said, “Even though taxpayers are relieved to file ITR, they should still file the return as early as possible to avoid interest u/s 234A and 234B. There is no relief on penalty for late filing of return under sections 234A and 234B of the Income Tax Act 1961. Taxpayers have to pay interest for delayed filing of returns and payment of tax.
interest on delay
Delay in filing ITR attracts interest under section 234A. If the taxpayer has not paid advance tax or has paid less than 90 per cent of the tax liability, he will have to pay interest under section 234B at the rate of one per cent every month or from April till the date of payment ”
interest on tax liability
Talking about interest leviable on tax, Rana said, “Under section 208, a person has to pay advance tax if his tax liability for one year is Rs 10,000 or more. So, even if you are late in filing ITR, it is better that you pay the advance tax as soon as possible. As far as advance tax payment is concerned, a person who is a resident of India, who is 60 years of age or more and who has income other than income from business and profession, is not required to pay advance tax. . Therefore, section 234B will not affect such a person.
He further said, “In cases where the tax on total income after removing the advance tax amount, TDS/TCS, tax relief under sections 89, 90, 90A & 91 and alternate minimum tax credit of Rs. exceeds the amount, the rate of interest is applicable under section 234A. Because when it comes to tax payment, taxpayers do not face any problem and the website is also running fine.
late fee
In addition to interest on tax liability, late fee under section 234F is to be paid if there is delay in payment of tax. Rana told that if the return is filed after the last date, then a late fee of Rs 5000 has to be paid. If the total income does not exceed Rs 5 lakh, then the late fee will be Rs 1,000. However, missing the due date by December 31 of the assessment year attracts a late fee of Rs 5,000 and in other cases the fee goes up to Rs 10,000. Therefore, those who do not pay the tax by the extended due date December 31, 2021, will have to pay a fine of double i.e. ten thousand.
