If you think you can get away with not filing income tax
returns this financial year, think again. The government is serious this time.
Filing income tax returns no longer involves pen and paper
and a calculator. So you may have to change old jokes describing your duties to
society at the next friendly get together.
It is mandatory for each resident Indian to e-file her taxes
if she earns more than Rupees 2.5 lakh in a year. This rule is set in stone
following a literal reading of Section 139 of the IT Act, 1961. Is there any
chance of a leeway in terms of declaration of levies paid to the government?
Not for the financial year 2017-18. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had already announced
earlier in the year that those unable to file their taxes by the due date would
face stiff fines and penalties.
This threat has now been given teeth by the insertion of
Section 234F to the existing statute that stipulates a penalty of Rupees 5000
on those declaring their taxes after the 31st of July (or any other
due date as specified by the authorities) but on or before the 31st
of December, 2018.
This toll could go up to Rupees 10,000 in case you do your
returns after this date. There is the small consolation that your burden would
not increase by Rupees 1000 if you earn less than 5 lakh in a year.
Apart from fees and fines you will also be charged interest
on arrears starting from the date the window closed to the date the government
receives your statement online.
The message is simple: Do not fail to declare your annual
statements and do it online. Because it’s fast, easy and secure and charges
next to nothing if you are an ordinary assessee.
There are, of course, several advantages to doing your
filings on time.
·
Firstly, you become eligible for early refunds
on excess payments to the government.
·
Secondly, you contribute to keeping CA
assistance costs low by distributing demand along the full range of the
allotted time for declaration.
·
You get a fuller chance to rectify mistakes in
your declaration. You do not get charged interest for such failures.
This information is provided to you in the
public interest courtesy of AllIndiaITR,
a product of Corwhite Solutions Private
Limited.
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