In an effort to meet the revenue targets, the
Income Tax ( IT) department will be sending letters to 2.3 million assessees who
have not filed returns. It has already issued letters to 2.45 million
individuals. Therefore, if you haven’t filed taxes for the financial year 2012-
13 ( Fin.Year 2013), you still have time in hand. The Income Tax department will
accept returns till the end of the assessment year, that is, till March 31,
2014.
Importantly, if all your taxes are paid, you
will not even be levied a penalty or get a notice for not filing returns for
2012-13, if you do so by March 31. For FY13, you can file late returns till
March 31, 2015. However, if returns are not filed till March 2014 and there is
no outstanding tax, you can be charged a penalty of Rs. 5,000. But, if you have
an outstanding tax liability, you will be levied an interest at one per cent per
month above the penalty. There can be another chargeable interest component
under Section 234(B). It deals with delay in depositing advance tax and charges
one per cent interest every month starting April 1, 2013, till such time the
outstanding amount is paid. “Advance tax provisions are applicable only to those
who have an outstanding advance tax liability of Rs. 10,000 or more annually
(under Section 234( B)). However, if such an individual has paid 90 per cent of
the outstanding tax liability, then Section 234( B) is not applicable,” says
Vineet Agarwal, director at KPMG.
If the tax due is more than Rs. 10,000, you pay
an advance tax. Advance tax is payable in three tranches — 30 per cent is to be
paid by September 15 of the relevant financial year, next 30 per cent or 60 per
cent of the total liability by December 15 and the remaining 30 per cent or 100
per cent of the amount due by March 31. Those who haven’t filed returns for
FY12, can also file late returns till March 31. There could be a penalty of Rs.
5,000 for late filing, depending on the assessing officer. Experts say penalty
is invoked largely when there is an additional tax liability.
The tax department considers genuine reasons
for not filing returns, such as serious illness or injury. Though the tax laws
give a grace period for late returns, it also takes away some of your rights.
For instance, you cannot revise your tax return if it has been filed after the
due date ( July 31). If you have filed by the due date, you can alter it any
number of times before the end of the assessment year ( March 31), or till the
return is assessed. However, thereafter you are not allowed to change it. So, if
you miss out on any deduction or exemption, you can’t claim it later. “You also
cannot carry forward any short- term or long term losses if you have filed after
the due date,” says Kuldip Kumar, executive director ( tax & regulatory
services) at PwC.
Taxpayers, who have filed by the due date, can
carry forward capital losses and adjust them against future capital gains. You
can carry forward such losses up to eight financial years. So capital losses
suffered in 2012-13 can be adjusted against gains till 2020-21 if you file
returns on time
No comments:
Post a Comment