The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified income tax return (ITR) forms for the Financial Year (FY) 2022-23 (assessment year or AY 2023-24) via notifications dated February 10, 2023 and February 14, 2023. It has also released the excel utility for ITR-I and ITR-4 on April 25, 2023 and for ITR-2 on May 11, 2023 through its website vvww.incometaxgov.in so e-filing of ITRs has
begun.
It is important to consider various factors such as sources of income, residential status and asset/ liability reporting requirement etc. to decide which ITR form is applicable to you. Here is a guide to help you select the correct ITR form applicable to you while filing ITR for FY 2022-23 (AY 2023-24).
Which ITR form is applicable to you?
The income tax department is yet to separately issue the instructions regarding the applicability of different ITR forms for FY 2022-23 (AY 2023-24). However, on the basis of the notified ITR Forms, one can infer which ITR form is applicable to whom:
What if ITR filing deadline is missed?
If the ITR is not filed by the due date, which is currently July 31, 2023 (for salaried individuals and taxpayers whose accounts are not required to be audited), penalty ranging from Rs 1,000 up to Rs 5,000 will be levied and has to be paid before the ITR can be filed. This fee or a penalty has to be paid even if the final tax liability is nil. Further, in case of belated filing, taxpayers will also not be able to carry forward certain losses for set-off in the future years. Also, to be eligible to opt for the new concessional tax regime, one needs to file their ITR on or before July 31, 2023. An individual filing belated ITR will not be able to opt for new tax regime.
Do note that in case the ITR (original or belated) is not filed or revised ITR could not be filed within the timelines provided under income tax laws, an updated ITR can be filed within 2 years from the end of the relevant assessment year if conditions specified in Section 139(8A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 are satisfied. However, the taxpayer will need to pay additional
income-tax of 25% or 50% on aggregate of income-tax and interest payable, as applicable. This would be over and above the regular income-tax, interest and applicable fee payable for delayed payment of taxes and/ or filing of ITR.
One must also validate the information captured by the tax authorities in the Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) before filing the ITR for FY 2022-23 to avoid receiving income/ tax mismatch notices at a later date.
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