Why 31st March, 2018 is the Big Date??

Yes, every
year comes 31st March with all closings and stock verifications etc,
but this year onwards every 31st March will mark the last date for
which a Income tax return can be filed for the Assessment year.

31.3.2018 is
the last date for filing Income tax Return for AY 16-17 and 17-18. No more does
the law allows relaxation of filing belated return as 1 year from end of
Relevant Assessment year. From now onwards, the return has to be filed within
the relevant assessment year along with Applicable Interest if any.

So if you are yet to file older ITRs, “there’s still
time” to “come clean” as a recent advertisement put out by the
income tax department reminds folks. The ad goes on to exhort companies, firms,
LLPs, trusts, associations and political parties (whose income prior to claim
of exemptions exceeds the minimum chargeable to tax) to file taxes.

Similarly, individuals earning over Rs 2.5 lakh have to pay
income tax while the exemption limit for senior citizens (aged 60-80 years) is
Rs 3 lakh and that for very senior citizens (over 80 years) is Rs 5 lakh.
Demonetisation Assessees
“If you have deposited large amounts of cash in your bank
account or made high value transactions, please consider the same while filing
income tax returns”. Keep in mind that failure to file returns for the AY
2017-18 by March 31 means
no second
chances.
Belated filing, of course, poses serious drawbacks. Not only do
you lose the opportunity to avail of select exemptions and carry forward losses
(other than house property loss) for the assessment years for which ITR were
not filed, you may have to shell out extra as interest under section 234A,
perhaps even sections 234B and 234C, which deal with advance tax. The latter is
applicable on all individuals with a tax liability exceeds Rs 10,000 after your
employer has deducted the TDS.
Remember you will be charged an interest amount of 1% per month
(simple interest) on the tax amount outstanding. This interest will be
calculated from the due date applicable to you for filing of return of the
applicable year till the date that you actually file your return.”
Here’s an example.
Assume your total tax outstanding is Rs 1 lakh and you forgot to
file your return. Your tax liability will calculated at 8% (8 months late till
the end of the assessment year on March 31) of Rs 1 lakh, or Rs 8,000, over and
above the tax amount that you are due to pay in any case.
That apart, “a penalty of Rs 5,000 shall be levied under
section 271F”, says the FAQ on the income tax website. With effect from AY
2018-19, a new section 234F will come into play, under which the penalty for
ITRs furnished on or before December 31 is Rs 5,000, but double that amount for
later filings. However, penalty “shall be levied @ Rs 1,000 if total
income does not exceed Rs 5,00,000” and if the tax evaded “exceeds Rs
25 lakh the punishment could be 6 months to 7 years” adds the website.
Also keep in mind that silly mistakes often creep in when one is
trying to beat a deadline, like erroneously leaving a mandatory field empty or
forgetting to report interest income. So make sure no discrepancies creep in
while filing your returns, else you could be staring at a demand notice from
the taxman, which means extra paperwork for you.
Thankfully, at least this headache will disappear
from the next assessment year on. Earlier this month the CBDT announced that
demand notices won’t be issued in cases of a minor mismatch between a
taxpayer’s ITR and the corresponding tax credit data collected from banks and
other financial institutions.
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