ITR Update: Income Tax Dept Asks Taxpayers To File Belated, Revised Returns Before December 31

The deadline for those who have not yet filed the income tax return (ITR) or want to revise their already filed ITR for the assessment year 2022-23 is ending on December 31, the income tax department reiterated on Thursday. A total of 5.83 crore income tax returns were filed till the last day of such filing on July 31.

“Delays end in dues! 31st December, 2022 is your last chance to file a belated/revised ITR for AY 2022-2023. Hurry! File your ITR before the due date,” the income tax department said in a tweet on Thursday.

Belated ITR

Under Section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, there is a provision for filing a belated ITR in case you have missed the original deadline. However, as per Section 234F, a penalty of Rs 5,000 needs to be paid if one files a belated ITR after July 31 by taxpayers with a total income of Rs 5 lakh and above. For taxpayers with less than Rs 5 lakh total income, the fine amount is Rs 1,000 while those who are exempt from paying income tax do not have to pay any penalty.

For filing the belated ITR, filers must select Section 139(4) in the tax return form. The last date for filing the belated ITR is December 31. If someone misses this deadline, he or she will not be able to file the ITR unless the income tax department sends a notice.

Revised ITR

If you filed the ITR within the original deadline of July 31 but made a mistake, you can correct that and file a revised ITR by December 31. The provision for this is given under Section 139(5) of the Income Tax Act. The process to file a revised ITR is the same as original ITR. However, you need to select Section 139(5) in the income tax return form and must have the original ITR as the figures put in the original ITR will also be needed in the process.

Experts said the revised return can be filed multiple times within the statutory time limits. However, if a return is revised multiple times, the said return may be selected for a detailed assessment to assess the reasons for multiple revisions in the tax return. There is nothing specific that should be considered while filing the revised return.

Since the revised return substitutes the original return and multiple revised returns could result in detailed scrutiny of the matter, it should be ensured that the revised return reflects the correct data and information. Further, the revised return should be in line with the disclosures made in the tax audit report.

Even those who filed belated ITR (the return that is filed after the due date) are allowed to file a revised return. Previously, only those taxpayers who had filed ITR before the expiry of the deadline were allowed to revise their returns.

Experts also said that if your income tax return has been processed and you have availed a refund, a revised return can be filed if it is filed within the specified due date. If the ITR form has to be changed, a revised return can be filed.

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