What is the fee for filing an income-tax return late?

What does section 234F charge?

The fee applies to a person who was required to file the return and files it after the due date. It is not waived because income is above the exemption limit. The smaller cap applies in the other direction: where total income does not exceed ₹5 lakh, the fee shall not exceed ₹1,000.

The due date is not the same for every person. A company files ITR-6 by 31 October, or by 30 November if section 92E applies. Which form is used is on the income-tax return page. Form 16 is the employer’s certificate of tax deducted from salary. It is not the return, and the return is not posted to a local office.

What interest runs on unpaid tax?

Section 234A charges simple interest at 1 percent for every month or part of a month on the tax that remains unpaid, from the day after the due date until the return is filed. The interest is on that unpaid tax. It is not a second copy of the late fee. Self-assessment tax is paid before the return is submitted. A late statement of tax deducted at source is a different default, and it is not this fee.

Until when can a belated return be filed?

A belated return under section 139(4) may be filed before the end of 31 December of the assessment year, or before the assessment is completed, whichever is earlier. After that date the belated return is not available. An updated return under section 139(8A) is a different filing, made within 24 months from the end of the assessment year, and it carries its own additional tax. A wilful failure to furnish a return can be prosecuted under section 276CC. Where the tax that would have been evaded exceeds ₹25 lakh, the imprisonment is from six months to seven years. In another case it is from three months to two years. The section has exceptions, including a return that is furnished before the end of the assessment year.

Frequently asked questions

Four questions cover the ₹5 lakh limit, Form 16, a TDS statement, and posting the return.