Six days to go: What happens if you don't file your income tax returns by 31 July?

The 31 July deadline to file Income Tax returns is fast approaching with the Centre in no mood to offer an extension.

Over the last two financial years in the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had extended the deadline for filing ITRs to ease compliance for taxpayers.

“Dear taxpayers, Do remember to file your ITR if you haven't filed yet. The due date to file ITR for AY 2022-23 is 31st July, 2022,” the Income Tax Department tweeted.

Speaking to PTI, revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj said over 2.3 crore income returns were filed by 20 July for the 2021-22 fiscal and the numbers are picking up.

“People thought the routine now is that dates will be extended. So they were a little slow in filling the returns initially but now on a daily basis, we are getting between 15 lakhs to 18 lakh returns. This will slightly go up to 25 lakh to 30 lakh returns,” Bajaj told PTI.

As per I-T rules, the deadline for filing ITRs of a fiscal by individual taxpayers who do not need to get their accounts audited is 31 July of the subsequent financial year.

Through ITR, a person is supposed to submit to the Income Tax Department of India. It contains information about the person’s income and the taxes to be paid on it during the year.

But what happens if you don’t file your taxes by 31 July? Let’s take closer look:

First, it is important to note that ITR filing is mandatory for an individual having a gross total income of over Rs 2.5 lakh in a financial year.

In some cases, ITR is mandatory even when the individual doesn’t have taxable income.

Second, don’t fret if you miss the 31 July deadline. You can still file your returns for the financial year by 31 December.

However, keep in mind that you will have to pay a fine of Rs 5,000 if taxable income is over than ₹5 lakh, and Rs 1,000 if the taxable income is less than ₹5 lakh – plus interest.

“In case of failure to file ITR by the due date, you can file the belated return by 31 December 2022. A penalty of Rs. 5,000 is levied if the return is filed after the due date but before 31st December 2022,” Deepak Jain, chief executive of tax e-Filing and Compliance Management Portal TaxManager.in told Financial Express.

However, as per Mint, Income Tax Returns cannot be voluntarily filed after 31 December of the assessment year. After that, the Income Tax Department will inform you of what has to be done if and when it picks up your income tax details that are available for inspection.

‘Ready for 1-cr returns on last day’

The Income Tax Department has established an independent portal for e-filing of income tax returns: incometaxindia.gov.in. There are also private entities, registered by the department that permit taxpayers to e-file through their websites, as per Hindustan Times.

Last fiscal (2020-21), about 5.89 crore ITRs (Income Tax Returns) were filed by the extended due date of December 31, 2021.

“Last time 9-10 per cent filed on last day. Last time, we had over 50 lakh (filing returns on the last date). This time, I have told my people to be ready for 1 crore (returns being filed on the last day),” Bajaj said.

The Income Tax Department has prescribed 7 types of ITR forms, whose applicability will depend on the nature and amount of income and the type of taxpayer, he said.

The tax department’s new income tax filing portal is now very robust to take the increased loads, he added.

“So far, there is no thinking of extending the last date of filing,” he said.

Bajaj said the feedback being received from taxpayers is that the return form has become very easy to file and that refunds are also being made in a very quick time.

On some complaining about difficulty in filing returns, he said 2.3 crore people have already filed returns without any complaints.

“Previously 50,000 people were filing returns daily and now this number has gone up to 20 lakh. I am confident that returns will go up in the next few days and people will file their returns,” he said.

With inputs from agencies