July 31, Monday is the last day to file the income tax return (ITR) for the financial year of 2022-23, which means taxpayers have less than a week to file their ITR. The Income Tax Department has urged taxpayers to file their returns at the earliest to avoid last-minute rush and late penalties.
As of now, the Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) has not indicated or made any announcement of an extension of the last date for filing ITR. Thus, it is most likely that the deadline to file an ITR for FY2023, or assessment year (AY) 2023-24, will end on July 31.
On Monday, CBDT chairperson Nitin Gupta said that over four crore income tax returns (ITRs) for FY23 have been filed so far, and of these, around 7 per cent are new or first-time filers. Gupta, while speaking on the occasion of Income Tax Day, further said that over half of these ITRs have been processed, and around 80 lakh refunds have been issued.
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What will happen if you miss the last date for filing ITR?
Although it is not advisable that one should miss their ITR, if someone misses filing their income tax return before deadline, they can file a belated ITR, which includes a late filing penalty.
What is belated ITR?
In case taxpayers are filing belated ITR, they have to pay a fee of Rs 5,000, which is levied under Section 234F of the Income Tax Act, 1961. However, for individuals, whose total income does not exceed Rs 5 lakh in a fiscal year, the maximum penalty for filing a belated ITR is Rs 1,000.
Moreover, if taxpayers have to pay tax in their ITR, they will be charged an interest of 1 per cent per month from the due date till they file their return.
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What happens when taxpayers don’t file their ITR?
If a taxpayer does not file their ITR at all, they won’t be able to carry forward the losses incurred in the current AY. Moreover, taxpayers can also face prosecution, if they willfully fail to file their return even after getting notices from the I-T department.