The deadline for filing income tax returns for FY 2022-23 is July 31, 2023. Taxpayers are urged to file on time to avoid penalties and late fees
Income tax return (ITR) filing for FY 2022-23: The due date for income tax return (ITR) filing is 31st July 2023, which means taxpayers have just a week in hand to file their ITR. In order to avoid late fees or penalties, the income tax department has been urging taxpayers to file their returns as soon as possible and not wait until the last minute.
“As the deadline for filing ITR for FY 2022-23 (AY 2023-24) nears on 31st July 2023, over 4 crore taxpayers have already filed their returns. Despite some taxpayers hoping for an extension, it is unlikely that the government will grant any further delays beyond the set date,” said Abhishek Soni CEO and Co-founder Tax2win.
Filing ITR on time is highly advisable to avoid last-minute mistakes. “The consequences of missing the deadline could result in penalties. Taxpayers who fail to file their ITR by the deadline may incur a penalty of ₹5,000 under Section 234F. However, for individuals with an income of less than ₹5 lakh, the penalty will be a reduced amount of ₹1,000,” said Abhishek Soni
Tax and investment expert Balwant Jain said, “If an earning individual misses filing ITR within the given due date, then he or she would be able to do so by paying the late fee. The late fee would be ₹5,000 if the annual taxable income is ₹5 lakh or more whereas the late fee would be ₹1,000 if the taxable income is below ₹5 lakh.”
Mumbai-based tax expert Balwant Jain added that the Indian government has the power to initiate prosecution against the salaried individuals who have missed filing ITR by 31st December 2023
“Current income tax rules prescribe a minimum sentence of 6 months of imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 7 years of imprisonment. It is not that the department can launch prosecution against you in each and every instance of failure to file the ITR. The income department can launch prosecution only in case the amount of tax sought to be avoided exceeds ₹10,000,” Balwant Jain said.
More than four crore income tax returns (ITRs) for the 2022-23 financial year have been filed so far and about 7 per cent of these are new or first-time filers, CBDT chairperson Nitin Gupta said on Monday. He said that more than half of these ITRs have been processed leading to 80 lakh refunds till now. The chairperson was speaking at an event held here to mark the 164th Income Tax Day on 24 July.
Source: https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/itr-filing-july-31-deadline-penalties-and-other-outcomes-if-you-miss-the-due-date-to-file-income-tax-return-11690265853166.html
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