Income Tax department seeks to recover Rs 5,000 crore from taxpayers: Report

The Income Tax department sought to recover Rs 5000 crore from taxpayers, a report in the Times of India stated. According to the report, the I-T department hace come across many cases where the taxpayers have taken credit for payment of "self-assessment tax" without actually clearing the dues, resulting in arrears of approximately Rs 5,000 crore. 

The non-payment of dues, according to the publication, has unabled the I-T department being unable to process the ITR filings of the last financial year with authorities now approaching the assessees to immediately pay up. 

If an Income Tax Return for a financial year has not been filed up to the due date prescribed, it can still be filed at any time before the end of the relevant assessment year. Thus, the Income Tax Return for the financial year 2017-18 can be filed till March 31, 2019. However, you shall be liable to pay a late filing fee under section 234F of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act). For individuals having income above Rs 5 lakh and filing the income tax return after December 31, 2018, but before March 31, 2019, the amount of fee shall be Rs 10,000. But, this late fee shall be limited to Rs 1,000 in case the total income is less than Rs 5 lakh. Further, the late fee shall have to be paid even if there is no tax liability. It can be paid online/offline, by way of self-assessment tax under section 140A of the Act.

Earlier, the Central Board of Direct Taxes had said that there has been 80 per cent increase in the number of Income Tax Returns filed in last four fiscal years. It also said that the number of taxpayers showing income above Rs 1 crore has increased 60 per cent in four years.