Income Tax is an annual tax which every earning individual, corporate firms, local authority and company has to pay. And the tax depends on the annual income of a person or entity where the cycle starts from 1st April in a year and ends on 31st March of the next year.
And every individual, firm or a company should file their income tax returns for a financial year on or before the 31st of July of the next financial year. Under section 139 (1), the normal due dates for filing of income tax return is:
| Particulars | Due Date |
| Where the taxpayer is 1. Company 2. Any person mandatorily required to get his tax audit done 3. A working partner of a firm whose accounts are required to be audited |
30th September of the Assessment Year |
| In case of any other category of taxpayer i.e. Salaried / self-employer who are not required to get their tax audit done | 31st July of the Assessment Year |
However, if you have missed your due date for filing your income tax return, you can do so belatedly under section 139 (4).
Belated Return of Income Tax
As discussed if a taxpayer fail to file income tax returns on or before above-mentioned date under section 139 (1) can still pay it belatedly, or
If the taxpayer receives any notice under section 142 (1) from the income tax officer in case income tax return is not filed stating to file the required tax within the time specified in the notice and he has missed the due date of the notice as well can still file the income tax return. Such income tax returns which are filed after the due date are called “Belated Return”.
And one can file the belated return at any time of their convenience before the end of the relevant assessment year.
Also, ponder upon following points regarding Belated Return:
- Considerable Assessment date means the due date on which the order of assessment is passed and not on which the taxpayer has received the order
- If the return is filed after the assessment which gets cancelled, the return would still be considered as valid
- Belated return of loss from business/profession is not applicable after the normal due date
- Under the Finance Act 2016, Belated Returns filed under section 139 (4) can be revised, which is applicable from Assessment Year 2017 – 18 onwards.
- The taxpayers are required to pay interest of 1% (simple interest) per month along with tax under section 234 A in case the return is filed after the income tax due date.
What are the penalties for late filing Income Tax Return?
Late filing income tax return is subjected to penalty i.e. penalty of Rs. 5000. Although this penalty has to be paid once the taxpayer receives a notice from the income tax officer, else the penalty is not automatically levied. Hence this penalty depends on the assessment officer.