Income Tax Return Filing: Missed deadline or furnished wrong information? You may face fine, jail term

Income Tax Return: Filing Income Tax Return may be a cumbersome process and it is quite possible that many of you may have paid late fine after missing the initial deadlines. However, before filing the return, you must ensure that you have all the relevant documents ready with you. If you don't file the return or if you commit any mistake while filing the return, you are bound to get a notice from the tax department. You may also receive a tax assessment order if the department thinks there is any irregularity in your submission.

On the other hand, you may also face several legal actions.

"Effective from the assessment year 2018-19, if assessee failed to furnish the return of income within due date as prescribed under section 139(1) then as per section 234F, he will be required to pay a fee of Rs 5000 if the return is furnished on or before 31 December of the assessment year or Rs 10,000 thereafter," said Pankaj Mathpal, Managing Director at Optima Money Managers.

Mathpal added that under section 270A, an assessee has to pay penalty at the rate of 200% of the tax sought to be evaded by under-reporting of income.

"Under section 234A & 234B, an assessee has to pay interest at the rate of 1% per month for default in the payment of advance tax," said Mathpal.

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In some cases, the defaulter may face a jail term of a minimum duration of 3 months to maximum up to 7 years.

Therefore, you should be careful while filing your returns to avoid any penalties or attracting any notice from the department.