Income tax return filing due date today, will government extend deadline?

Income Tax Return filing: The Income Tax department on Saturday informed that over 5 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have been filed for the assessment year 2022-23 up to 8.36 pm on its portal, and urged others to #FileNow, as today is the due date to file the ITR. While many people are still seeking an extension of this deadline, it is very unlikely that the government will do so. 

The department issued a public message through its official Twitter handle asking taxpayers, largely individuals and salaried class, to file their returns within the due date of July 31. “#FileNow to avoid late fee,” it said. 

What happens if you miss the deadline?

Anyone who hasn’t filed an ITR yet, should do so today. But in case you miss the July 31 deadline, you can still file the return by December 31, 2022. However, you will have to pay a late fee. It will also have some other financial consequences. The late fee for the taxpayers whose annual income is up to ₹ 5 lakh is ₹ 1,000. If your annual income is more than ₹ 5 lakh the late fine is ₹ 5,000.

However, if your gross total income does not exceed the basic exemption limit, you will not be liable to pay a penalty for the late filing. Under the old income tax regime, the basic tax exemption limit stands at ₹ 2.5 lakh for taxpayers below 60 years of age. For people between 60 and 80 years of age, the basic exemption limit is fixed at ₹ 3 lakh. For people above 80 years of age, the exemption limit stands at ₹ 5 lakh.

Will the deadline to file ITR be extended?

Amidst the requests for an extension in the deadline, the hashtag “#Extend_Due_Date_Immediately” was trending on Twitter. Despite such requests, it is expected that there will be no extension of the due date this year like the previous two years.  The Income Tax department also informed that Aaykar Seva Kendras (ASKs) or Income Tax help centres across the country will remain open today and additional receipt counters will be opened, wherever required, to “facilitate filing of tax returns by the taxpayers.

Officials said the finance ministry and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which frames policy for the tax department, are continuously monitoring the ITR filing exercise.

A “war room” of technical experts working on the portal and the social media team of the CBDT that is gathering individual and public responses to the filing are working together 24×7, a senior officer told news agency PTI.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)

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