Still time to file your I-T returns

Today is the last day to file income tax returns. But what happens if you are not in a position to file your returns today, July 31, 2010?

Don’t worry. As www.incometaxindia.gov.in, the website of the income tax department points out, the returns “may be furnished at any time before the expiry of two years from the end of the financial year in which the income was earned”.

What this means is that for the income earned during the financial year 2009-10 (from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010), the returns can be filed any time before March 31, 2012.  

So, salaried individuals whose tax due has already been deducted at source by their companies, and there is no further income tax still to be paid, need not worry at all, if they miss the July 31 deadline. But, individuals should keep in mind the fact that section 271(F) of the Income Tax Act allows the assessing officer of the income tax department to levy a fine of Rs5,000, if the tax returns are filed after March 31, 2011.

What happens to those who need to pay tax on their income earned and do not pay it before July 31, 2010? “Paying the tax late does come with a cost attached to it. In terms of repercussions, a simple interest of 1% per month will be levied on any tax due,” says Sandeep Shanbhag, director, Wonderland Consultants, a tax and financial planning firm.