ITR Filing: If I miss July 31 deadline, can I still file my income tax return? What the rules say

If someone misses the deadline, they can file an updated return under sub-section 8A of Section 139. As per the Income Tax Act, one can file an updated return irrespective of whether such a person has already filed the original, belated, or revised return for the relevant assessment year or not (subject to certain conditions).

As per Section 139 of the Income Tax Act 1961, no late fee will be levied on you if you are not supposed to file an ITR. But if one misses the deadline under Section 139(1), they can invite a late filing penalty fee of Rs 5,000. Photo: Pixabay

ITR Filing July 31 Deadline: The central government provided data on Sunday night (July 30) showing that more than 6 crore people have filed income tax returns so far. With the last day of income tax filing today, a huge rush is expected on tax filing sites from people looking to beat the deadline and avoid penalties. However, there can be many reasons why one may miss filing an ITR.

Why People Miss ITR Filing Deadline

ITR Website Showing Technical Error:

Though the current IT-department website is equipped to handle a large number of ITRs at a time, there are occasions when it becomes overloaded and shows technical errors.

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Lack of awareness:

Some employees, specially young professionals, may be unaware of their tax obligations and may not have done enough research to know if their income falls into the income tax slab.

Complexity in income tax system:

Some people may find filing ITR tough on the website or offline.

They have doubts about certain sections of the form or columns where they can put certain kinds of income.

They probably tried to file it but failed.

Carelessness:

Some people are careless to the point that they wait and watch and still miss the ITR deadline.

Financial hardship:

Some people are keen to file ITR but don't have money because of financial hardships to pay their taxes and may deliberately miss filing ITR.

However, in that case, they also have to pay more, as the IT-department will also impose penalties on them.

Personal circumstances: Sometimes people rushing to file ITR near the deadline face emergency situations at their home or company or have busy schedules and fail to file ITR before the deadline.

Unorganised records:

Due to carelessness, people don't maintain tax-saving certificates and documents, and miss the ITR deadline.

Fear or penalties:

Sometimes people suspect errors in their records or want to underreport their income.

They have a fear of being caught, and hence, they prefer to look the other way and don't file it altogether.

Penalties if you miss July 31 deadline

As per Section 139 of the Income Tax Act 1961, no late fee will be levied on you if you are not supposed to file an ITR.

But if one misses the deadline under Section 139(1), they can invite a late filing penalty fee of Rs 5,000 under Section 234F.

However, if one's income doesn't exceed Rs 5 lakh, they have to pay a penalty of just Rs 1,000.

The quantum of punishment can vary, as it can also include accrued interest or prosecution.

The duration of rigourous imporisonment can be from 3 months to 2 years.

But if one evades taxes of more than Rs 25 lakh, the duration can be as long as 7 years.

Missing the deadline can also cause you to accrue interest on the tax due. As per Section 234A, the taxpayer is obliged to pay an interest rate of 1 per cent per month or fraction of a month.

What can you do if you miss the deadline?

Updated Return

If someone misses the deadline, they can file an updated return under sub-section 8A of Section 139. As per the Income Tax Act, one can file an updated return irrespective of whether such a person has already filed the original, belated, or revised return for the relevant assessment year or not (subject to certain conditions).

To file an updated return, you have a deadline of 24 months from the end of the relevant assessment year. The income tax department states, "A belated return may be filed at any time three months prior to the end of the relevant assessment year or prior to the conclusion of assessment, whichever occurs first."

However, even if you are opting for an updated return, you have to pay fine for missing the deadline.

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