Belated return facility is available for those taxpayers who could not file their returns by 31 July due to some reason. Taxpayers whose accounts are not required to be audited can file their FY24 income tax returns by 31 December 2024. There is a provision of penalty on belated returns under section 234F of the Income Tax Act.
Income Tax Return: The last date for filing Income Tax Return (ITR) is 31st July. But, many people miss filing returns within the deadline due to some compulsions. The Income Tax Department has allowed late filing of returns for the convenience of such people. But, late filing of returns attracts penalty and interest. This is called belated return. Let us try to know about this in detail.
Who can file belated return?
Taxpayers whose accounts are not required to be audited can file FY24 income tax return by 31st December, 2024. There is a provision of penalty on belated return under section 234F of the Income Tax Act. A penalty of Rs 5000 is levied for filing the return by 31st December of the assessment year. A penalty of Rs 10,000 is levied for filing the return after 31st December but before the end of the assessment year (before 31st March). For those people whose total income is up to Rs 5 lakh, a penalty of Rs 1,000 is levied for filing belated returns.
No loss carry-forward facility
On filing a belated return, interest is charged on the tax liability of the taxpayer under section 234A. One disadvantage of filing a belated return is that it does not provide loss carry-forward facility. Loss carry-forward facility is available only on ‘income from house property’. Even if there is any mistake in the belated return, a revised return will have to be filed by December 31.
What is the filing process?
The process of filing belated returns is similar to filing normal returns. It can be filed from the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department. For this, taxpayers will have to log in with their ID and password. Then the correct income tax return form has to be selected. Then all the information including income has to be entered. Then after submitting the form online, the verification process has to be completed. It has to be kept in mind that belated returns can be filed only for FY24.
