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No extension in due date for filing ITR

no-extension-in-due-date-for-filing-itr

The Finance Ministry on 9th July 2019 issued a Press Release and clarified that the government is not intended to extend the ITR filing due date for AY 2019-20. Thus the last date for filing of ITRs remains 31 July 2019. There are no plans to extend this deadline.

It may be recalled that the government has modified the Form 16 and Form 24Q for the FY2018-19 or AY 2019-20 and extended the last date for issue of TDS certificates in Form 16 from 15th June to 10th July this year. The extension of the due date by the CBDT was given with a view to redressing genuine hardship of deductors in timely filing of TDS statement in Form 24Q on account of revision of its format and consequent updating of the File Validation Utility for its online filing.

Therefater, demands were raised from several quarters to extend the return filing due date also as only around 20 days would left after Form 16 is issued by the employer. Many were expecting a positive announcement from the government. However, the Ministry of Finance clarified the position to remove any ambiguity and issued a press release on 9th July 2019 that no specific proposal to extend the last date for filing IT returns for salaried class and others is under consideration at present.

The last date of filing of ITRs remains 31st July 2019. One should prepare himself on timely filing of correct returns by the due date. It is now mandatory to link the PAN with Aadhaar before filing of ITR for AY 2019-20.

In case one miss the due date of 31st July still, a return can be filed but with applicable late fees. The belated returns or ITR for AY 2019-20 can be filed by 31st March 2020.

In case of a salaried person filing return of income in ITR-1, the following information is noteworthy-

Due Date for filing of Return of Income in ITR-1 for AY 2019-20:

The prescribed due date for filing of income-tax return in ITR-1 is 31st July 2019 for the Financial Year 2018-19 or Assessment Year 2019-20.

A return in ITR-1 for AY 2019-20 can be filed after the due date of 31st July 2019 but before 31st March 2020 with late fees which vary according to 'Total Income' of the taxpayer and belated time of filing the ITR-1 as given below:

Time of filing of ITR-1
Total Income is up to Rs. 5 Lakh
Total Income is more than Rs. 5 Lakh
If ITR-1 is filed by 31st July 2019
Rs. Nil
Rs. Nil
If ITR-1 is filed in the period between 1st August 2019 to 31st December 2019
Rs. 1,000
Rs. 5,000
If ITR-1 is filed in the period between 1st January 2020 to 31st March 2020
Rs. 1,000
Rs. 10,000

In the first case where the return of income in ITR-1 is filed within the due date of 31st July, no late fees is payable. However, if the ITR-1 is filed after the due date but before 31st December, then the late fee is Rs. 5,000 if total income exceeds Rs. 5 lakh in the AY 2019-20. If the ITR-1 is filed after 31st December, then the late fee is increased to Rs. 10,000 under similar circumstances. In any case, if the total income does not exceed Rs. 5 lakh then the late fees is limited to Rs. 1,000. Please note that no return of income in ITR-1 can be filed for the AY 2019-20 after 31st March 2020.

Who are mandatorily required to file a return of income in ITR 1?

As per section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, if the 'Gross Total Income' of an Individual exceeds the basic exemption limit amount in a previous year then he is compulsorily required to file the income tax return. Basic exemption limit amount is the amount of income on which no tax is payable as per the income-tax slab as mentioned in the Table 1/2/3 above. Thus an Individual below 60 years of age is compulsorily required to file an income tax return if his 'Gross Total Income' in FY 2018-19 exceeds Rs. 2,50,000. Similarly, for a senior citizen and a very senior citizen individual, the limit is Rs. 3,00,000 and Rs. 5,00,000 respectively.

If the 'Gross Total Income' of an individual does not exceed the basic exemption limit, then he is not required to file the income tax return though voluntarily he may file the income tax return.

For an individual filing income tax return in ITR 1, the 'Gross Total Income' is the aggregate of income under the following heads-
  • Income under the head salaries after all exemption under section 10 and 16 (which includes 'Standard Deduction'),
  • Income from House Property, and
  • Income from other sources.
If the aggregate of the income under the above three heads is more than Rs. 2,50,000 or higher, as the case may be, then return filing is compulsory.

In this context, it is important to note that due to rebate allowed under section 87A if no tax is payable, but still the taxpayer has to file the return of income since his 'Gross Total Income' is more than the basic exemption limit. For example, if the income from salary of an individual below 60 years of age is Rs. 3,00,000 then after rebate his tax liability will be 'Nil'. But since his income exceeds the basic exemption limit of Rs. 2,50,000, he is required to file the income tax return. Reducing the tax liability due to rebate does not absolve an individual from the filing of income tax return.


Also Read:
No tax on Income up to Rs. 5 Lakh as per Interim Budget 2019

Read the full text of the Press release:

Ministry of Finance

Extension of last date for filing IT returns

Posted On: 09 JUL 2019 8:20PM by PIB Delhi
            Government has recently changed Form 16 and Form 24 Q to bring more disclosures.  In order to enable pre-filling of return of income of salaried taxpayers, the Government has amended Form No. 16 (certificate for tax deduction) and Form No. 24Q (quarterly statement of tax deducted) vide notification dated 12th April, 2019, to include more detailed information in these forms.
            These forms, inter alia, provide for the following additional information:

  1. Clause wise details of various allowances exempt under section 10 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (“the Act”);
  2. Amount of standard deduction;
      (iii) Section wise details of deduction under Chapter VIA of the Act;
      (iv) Details of rebate under section 87A of the Act;
  1. PAN of the lender, if the interest on housing loan is claimed under section 24(b) of the Act on loan taken from a person other than a Financial Institution or the employer.
    The purpose of amendment in these forms was to reduce compliance burden of employers (since Form No 16 can now be downloaded online and there is common format of reporting), to enable pre-filling of income tax return forms (since the information sought in income tax return forms has now been aligned with the information in these forms) and to enable e-verification of various details in income tax returns.
             Considering the practical difficulties of taxpayers, the due date for issue of Form No. 16 has already been extended from 15th June, 2019 to 10th July, 2019.
             Representations have been received from certain quarters but, no specific proposal to extend the last date for filing IT returns for salaried class and others is under consideration at present.
This was stated by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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