The Income-tax Department on Friday confirmed that the deadline to file income-tax returns (ITR) for 2019-20 will end on Saturday, and won’t be extended again, while issuing a clarification on a fake order circulating on social media about extension of the deadline.
In a tweet on Friday afternoon, the I-T Department said: “It has come to the notice of CBDT that an order is being circulated on social media pertaining to extension of due date for filing of IT Returns. It is categorically stated that the said order is not genuine. Taxpayers are advised to file returns within extended due date of 31.08.2019.”
The fake notice which went viral on social media said that the due date for filing ITR for 2019-20 has been extended to 30 September 2019 as taxpayers are still facing some difficulties in filing their returns due to various reasons. The I-T Department attached a picture of the fake notice along with its tweet on Wednesday.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had last month extended the due date for filing ITR to give more time to taxpayers, as the due date to issue Form 16 this year was extended from 15 June to 10 July, which left only 21 days (if the deadline was 31 July) for the salaried taxpayers to file their ITRs using Form 16.
Taxpayers will now have to adhere to the 31 August deadline. If the deadline is missed, the ITR for 2019-20 can still be filed till 31 March 2019, but only after paying a penalty. According to income-tax rules, if a taxpayer files his/her return after the due date, but before December 31 of the assessment year, he/she has to pay Rs 5,000 as penalty. If the ITR is filed between 1 January and 31 March of the assessment year, the penalty goes up to Rs 10,000. However, this penalty is applicable only for individuals who have an income above Rs 5 lakh per annum. In case the annual income is less than Rs 5 lakh, penalty amount can’t exceed Rs 1,000.
If taxpayers fail to file their ITR altogether, the tax department can send them a notice, which can even lead to prosecution. There are provisions of jail term from three months to two years on non-filing of ITRs. Also, the jail term can last up to seven years if the due tax is more than Rs 25 lakh. But, if the taxpayer manages to file return before the end of the assessment year, the prosecution is not initiated.
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