Meaning of Belated return (Return under section 139(4)): –
Belated Return simply means the filing of Income Tax Return after the due date or extended due date. Belated return is also be called as a late return.
If an individual taxpayer does not file an original tax return before the due date (for eg. 31st July, 30th September) or within the time allowed under a notice issued by an assessing officer, he still has the option to file the tax return as belated ITR by 31st March of the Assessment Year, unless extended by the government.
For the Financial year 2020-21
For example, The due date for filing income tax returns for AY 2021-22 (FY2020-21) has been extended by three months to December 31, 2021 for the taxpayer for whom due date was 31st July, 2020. As per the guidelines from the CBDT, if an individual taxpayer misses the income tax return (ITR) filing deadline of December 31, 2021, then they will have to pay a late fee and file the belated ITR. From this year onwards, the deadline for filing the belated ITR is December 31.
Penalty for late filing of income tax return:
A new, section 234F, was inserted by the government into the Income-tax Act, 1961.
If you file your ITR after the deadline, then a late filing fee will be levied. Till last year, if a taxpayer missed the ITR filing deadline, the maximum penalty he/she would have had to pay was Rs 10, 000. With effect from FY 2020-21, a person filing belated ITR will have to pay a penalty of up to Rs 5,000.
There is a relief given to small taxpayers — the IT department has stated that if the total income does not exceed Rs 5 lakh, the maximum penalty levied for delay will be Rs 1000.
How to file an Income Tax Return after the due date:
The process of filing a belated return is the same as filing the return on or before the due date. If a belated return is filed after the income tax due date, the taxpayer would be liable to pay the tax along with interest @ 1% per month (simple interest) under Section 234A.
If, due to any reason, the taxpayer is not able to file his income tax return, he can still submit a belated return before the end of the assessment year, i.e. FY 2020-21.
If you are filing a belated return for FY 2020-21, then you need to fill in the applicable ITRs as notified for this FY, and not for any previous or later FY. The relevant assessment year for a financial year is the immediately succeeding financial year. This means that you can file a belated return for FY 2020-21 by March 31, 2022, i.e., before the end of the assessment year AY 2021-22.
Can you revise belated tax returns?
Yes, ITR for FY 2016-17 and onward filed under section 139(4), which is applicable for belated tax returns, can be revised. However, belated returns filed for previous financial years cannot be revised because the income tax law was changed to allow this from FY 2016-17.
With effect from the financial year 2016-17, a belated return can be revised. However, remember the deadline to file a belated return and filing the revised return for FY 2020-21 has been extended to the same date March 31, 2022. Therefore, if you file your belated ITR for FY 2020-21 on March 31, 2021, then you might not get the opportunity to file the revised return as the deadline for filing the same also expires on March 31, 2022.
Cannot carry forward loss if ITR filed belated
If you file a belated return, you cannot carry forward losses (except loss from house property). Losses under the following heads of income: Income from business and profession including speculation business, capital gains, and income from other sources, cannot be carried forward in case a belated return is filed by the tax payer. The return filer will not be allowed to carry forward these losses even if all taxes have been paid in time if the return is belated.