ITR filing last date: What happens if you miss 31 March deadline to file returns?

The last date to file your belated Income Tax Returns for FY 2020/21 or Assessment Year 21/22 is 31 March. This deadline is for people who had failed to file their tax returns on the original due date of 31 December 2021.

The Income Tax Department also took to social media to remind people about the due date for filing their returns. View the tweet here:

For filing belated tax returns, a fine of Rs 5,000 will also be imposed on individuals with an annual income of more than Rs 5 lakh. In case the income of the individual is less than Rs 1 lakh, the fine will be Rs 1,000.

If taxpayers do not file their returns by 31 March, they will be liable to pay a penalty. They will also face heavier interest payments. After this date, tax payers cannot file their returns voluntarily and will only be able to do so in case of a notice from the I-T department.

Here is what happens if you don’t file your ITR by 31 March:

The Income Tax Department can levy up to 50 percent penalty of tax payable under Section 270 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, if the returns are not filed by the due date.

The taxpayer will also not receive any interest on the refund of excess taxes they have paid, according to a CNBC-TV18 report.

The taxpayer will also have to pay interest on the due amount for the number of days till he/she files the tax returns.

Moreover, people who do not file their ITR timely may face a higher tax deducted at source (TDS). Under a proposal in last year’s budget, non-filers (individuals who had not filed their tax returns in the two years immediately before the one in which tax is to be deducted) will have to pay TDS at 5 percent or twice the normal rate.

In extreme cases, individuals may face a prison term of up to three years. The original due date to file the ITR was 31 July, before it was extended to 31 December by the Union government on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.