ITR filing deadline missed? How much fine on late filing of ITR u/s 234f person have to pay However, an individual is required to pay a late filing fee if he/she is filing belated ITR. The last date of filing belated ITR is December 31, 2022
July 31, 2022 was the last day to file income tax return (ITR) for FY2021-22. However, if you have missed this deadline, then you can still file your ITR. The income tax return filed now will be termed as a belated ITR. If you are filing your ITR now (belated ITR), then you will have to pay a late filing fee.A late filing fee/penalty for filing belated ITR is levied under section 234F of the Income-tax Act, 1961. As per the law, a late filing fee of Rs.5,000 will be levied on individuals who file belated ITR. However, as a respite to small taxpayers, the late filing fee will not exceed Rs.1,000 if the total income does not exceed Rs.5 lakh.
It is important to note that the last date of filing belated ITR is December 31, 2022. Thus, an individual can file belated ITR any time between August 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, albeit by paying the penalty. If an individual misses this deadline as well, then he/she will not be able to file ITR unless income tax department sends a tax notice.
Payment of late filing fee
Before you start filing belated ITR, an individual is required to deposit the late filing fee as applicable. The late filing fee/penalty of filing belated ITR is payable using challan number 280. The payment can be made online on the NSDL website or by visiting the bank branch.
When was late filing fee introduced?
The late filing fee for filing a belated ITR was effective from FY 2017-18. As per the law, there was two tier structure for penalty/late filing fee. If an individual filed belated ITR after the expiry of ITR filing deadline, i.e., July 31 but any time on or before, then a penalty of Rs 5,000 was applicable. However, if the belated ITR was filed between January 1 and March 31, then a penalty of Rs 10,000 was applicable.
The penalty was revised as the government reduced the timeline of filing belated ITR. In the Budget 2021, the government reduced the time limit for filing belated ITR by three months. As per the reduced time limit, the last date of filing belated ITR has revised from March 31 to December 31. Due to a reduction in the time limit of belated filing ITR, a consequential amendment was made in Section 234F.
( Originally published on Aug 01, 2022 )
This story originally appeared on: India Times - Author:Tax Cognition
