Many taxpayers who filed their income tax returns after July 31, 2021, were charged a late fee of Rs 5,000 under Section 234F of the Income Tax Act, 1961. This late penalty should not have been charged as the due date for filing the ITR for individuals has been extended till September 30, 2021. The penalty is an error on part of the I-T department and shall be refunded.

If you’re one of those fined for ‘late’ filing of ITR you can file a rectification request online. However, such request can only be put once such requests are enabled by the new income tax portal. The new income tax portal launched on June 7 is wrought with technical glitches making the already tedious task of filing taxes.

The due date for individual taxpayers, who are not subject to audit, was extended from July 31 to September 30, 2021. It is possible that individuals were erroneously charged Rs 5,000 under Section 234F due to a faulty system. However, the new portal is not accepting rectification requests. So the only option is to wait for such requests to be made functional on the faulty income tax portal.

However, it is to be noted that only the date for filing ITRs has been and not the date of payment of taxes. Those liable to pay advance tax, with a tax liability of more than Rs 10,000, have to pay before March 15 in four instalments. Tax left to be paid after the date has be paid before the due date of filing the ITR. Therefore, it is suggested that all such dues be paid at the earliest failing which taxpayers are liable to pay a late penalty.

Under Section 234A, the interest rate of 1% is charged monthly on dues for delayed ITR filing. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has given relaxation for such cases only where the self-assessment tax liability after accounting for TDS, advance does not exceed Rs 1 lakh.

Among other relaxations, senior citizens have been exempted from filing ITRs. However, interest under Section 234B will be applicable if the taxpayer has not deposited advance tax or if the advance tax deposited is less than 90% of the total tax liability. Tax experts say penal interest under Section 234C will be applicable if the taxpayer does not deposit advance tax as per the prescribed quarterly instalments.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/personal-finance/article/charged-late-fee-after-filing-income-tax-return-heres-what-you-can-do/796160