Missed the Income Tax Return Deadline? You can still file your income tax returns

Government last week had extended the deadline by a week from July 31 to August 5. The last date to file income-tax returns is gone.  As usual, there are many taxpayers who couldn't meet the deadline this year, too. Of course, they also list the usual reasons for not filing returns on time: some could not login to the Income-Tax portal; some received the Form 16 late; some were too busy with their career and life to notice the deadline. "A lot of salaried individuals received their Form 16 very late this year. The delay in issuance of Form 16 on the part of the employers was primarily because of changes in the process relating to preparation of the Form 16," says Vaibhav Sankla, director with tax consulting firm H&R Block India. 

"Further, many faced challenges in accessing the TRACES website for many days. It is estimated that only 50% of those who are required to e-file their returns in Form ITR 2 could actually file it within the due date," he adds. Even the Income-Tax department concedes that some taxpayers have not been able to log on to the e-filing website www.incometaxindiaefiling .gov.in," he said. Due to a large number of tax-payers accessing the e-filing website on the due date of filing, some cases of tax-payers not being able to access the portal have been reported," the I-T department noted, while granting an extension till August 5 for such tax-payers . 

You can still file returns 

Tax rules permit assesses to file their returns pertaining to two preceding financial years, even after the expiry of the respective annual deadlines. "Tax-payers who haven't filed their tax return for the financial year 2012-13 can do so until March 31, 2014. However, it is advisable to complete the process as soon as possible to avoid any possible penal interest, if there is tax to be paid. The I-T department charges a penal interest for every month of delay," explains Nikhil Bhatia, executive director of PwC India.
(ET)

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