Due date to file ITR Soon: What will happen if you miss?

Filing an income tax return is a must for anyone earning in India. It’s how you report your income to the tax department. Who needs to file and the rules depend on whether you’re an individual, company, firm, or other entity. Filing on time is important late or wrong returns can lead to fines or loss of benefits.

Due date of filing of return of income

• Companies (not required to file Form 3CEB): They must file their income tax return by October 31 of the assessment year. The Due Date was extended to 15th December 2025 for Financial Year 2024-25.
• Any person or company that must file Form 3CEB (Transfer Pricing cases): They need to file their return by November 30 of the assessment year.
• Any person (not a company) whose accounts must be audited under Income Tax Law or any other law: Their due date to file the return is October 31 of the assessment year. The Due Date was extended to 15th November 2025 for Financial Year 2024-25.
• A working partner in a firm whose accounts must be audited: They also must file their return by October 31 of the assessment year. The Due Date was extended to 15th November 2025 for Financial Year 2024-25.
• All other taxpayers: They must file their return by July 31 of the assessment year.

Belated Return

A belated return is an Income Tax Return (ITR) filed after the original due date has passed. This is permitted under Section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act in India, allowing taxpayers a second chance to meet their compliance obligations, albeit with specific penalties and restrictions. It can be filed at any time three months before the end of the relevant assessment year or before completion of assessment, whichever comes first.

Consequences of delay in filing the return of income

If a person files their income tax return late, there can be several negative results. Here are the main problems that can happen when you delay filing your return:

• Losses (except house property loss) cannot be carried forward.
• Interest will be charged for late filing (Section 234A).
• A late filing fee must be paid (Section 234F).
• Exemptions under Sections 10A and 10B cannot be claimed.

Penalty

Fee for default in furnishing return of income will be Rs 5,000. However, where the total income of the person does not exceed Rs 500,000 the fee will not exceed Rs 1,000.

Revision of return

Sometimes, while filing an income tax return, a taxpayer may forget to include some information or may make a mistake. If this happens, the taxpayer can correct the error by filing a revised return. A revised return can be filed anytime up to 3 months before the end of the assessment year or before the tax department finishes the assessment, whichever happens first. However, only returns filed on time under Section 139(1) or late returns filed under Section 139(4) can be revised.

Defective Return

Section 139(9) lists the situations where a taxpayer’s income tax return can be considered defective, meaning it has missing information or required documents. If the Assessing Officer finds that a return is defective under this section, then he may ask the taxpayer to correct the mistakes.

The taxpayer must fix the mistakes in the return within 15 days from the date the tax department informs them, or within any extra time the Assessing Officer may give. If the taxpayer does not correct the defect within this time, the return will be treated as invalid, which means it will be considered as not filed at all, and all rules applying to non-filing of return will apply.

A return of income will be regarded as defective unless all the following conditions are met:

• All parts of the return related to calculating income under different heads, gross total income, and total income must be properly filled in.
• The return must include a statement showing how the tax payable is calculated.
• If the taxpayer needs an audit under Section 44AB, the return must include the audit report or proof that it was submitted earlier.
• The return must include proof of TDS/TCS, advance tax, or self-assessment tax paid; however, if the TDS/TCS certificate was not issued, the return is still valid if the certificate is produced later within the allowed two-year period.
• If regular books of accounts are maintained, copies of the trading/manufacturing account, profit and loss account, and balance sheet must be attached.
• Personal accounts of the proprietor, partners, or members must also be attached, depending on the type of business.
• If the accounts are audited, copies of audited statements and the auditor’s report must be included, along with any cost audit report if applicable.
• If books of accounts are not maintained, a statement of turnover, gross receipts, profits, expenses, and closing balances of debtors, creditors, stock, and cash must be attached.

Return of Income

It is compulsory for every taxpayer to explain his/her income to the Income tax Department. Such details are to be reported in the prescribed form known as return of income.

Who is required to file the return of income?

The rules for filing an income tax return depend on what type of taxpayer you are. The details for each type are explained below:

1.In the case of companies:

No matter if the company’s income is profit or loss, it has to file its return of income.

2.In the case of partnership firms:

It is compulsory for partnership firms, including Limited Liability Partnership to file their return of income no matter if their income is profit or loss.

3.In the case of an Individual/HUF/AOP/BOI/Artificial Juridical Person:

Every person whether an individual, HUF, AOP, BOI, or artificial legal entity, must file an income tax return if their total income (before applying any exemptions or deductions like section 10(38), 10A, 10B, 10BA 54, 54B, 54D, 54EC, 54F, 54G, 54GA, or 54GB or Chapter VIA) is more than the basic tax-free limit.

4. In the case of Charitable or religious trusts:

If a charity or religious trust receives income from its property or receives voluntary donations (referred to in section 2(24)(iia)), it must file an income tax return if its total income before applying exemptions under sections 11 and 12 is more than the basic exemption limit.

5. In the case of political parties:

The Chief Executive Officer of every political party has to file the return of income of the party if the total income of the party before applying to the provisions of section 13A exceeds the basic exemption limit.

6. In the case of certain associations:

Below mentioned are the entities liable to file the return of income if their total income before applying to section 10 is more than the exemption limit:

• News agency referred to in section 10 (22B)
• Research association referred to in section 10 (21)
• Association or institution referred to in section 10 (23A)
• Person referred to in clause (23AAA) of section 10
• Institution referred to in section 10(23B)
• Fund, institution, trust, university or other educational institution, or any hospital or medical institution referred to in sub-clause (iiiac), (iiiab), (iiiad), (iiiae), (iv), (v), (vi) or (via) of section 10 (23C)
• Mutual Fund referred to in clause (23D) of section 10
• Securitisation trust referred to in clause (23DA) of section 10
• Investor Protection Fund referred to in clause (23EC) or clause (23ED) of section 10.
• Core Settlement Guarantee Fund referred to in clause (23EE) of section 10
• Venture capital company or venture capital fund referred to in clause (23FB) of section 10.
• Trade union/association referred to sub-clause (a) or (b) of section 10(24).
• Board or Authority referred to in clause (29A) of section 10.
• Body/authority/Board/Trust/Commission referred to in section 10(46)
• Infrastructure debt fund referred to in section 10(47)

7. In the case of a specific university, college or other institution

Any university, college, or similar institution that is approved for scientific or social science research under section 35(1)(ii) or 35(1)(iii) must file an income tax return every year. This requirement applies even if the institution has no income, has a loss, or is not required to file a return under any other provision of the Income Tax Act.

8. In the case of Business Trust

Every business trust must file an income tax return every year, even if it does not earn any income or even if it has a loss. This rule applies when the trust is not required to file a return under any other section of the Income Tax Act.

9. In the case of an investment fund referred to in section 115UB

Every investment fund covered under section 115UB must file an income tax return every year, even if it has no income or even if it has a loss, as long as it is not already required to file a return under any other section.

10. In the case of persons holding assets located outside India

A person who lives in India and is not already required to file an income tax return under the earlier rules must still file a return if, at any time during the year, they have any kind of connection to assets or accounts located outside India:

a) Owns or partly owns any asset outside India, including shares or investments in any foreign company, or has the authority to operate or sign on any bank account or financial account outside India.

b) is a beneficiary of any asset located outside India.

Such a person must file an income tax return by the due date, giving all required details about their income or loss for the year. However, this rule does not apply if the person is only a beneficiary of a foreign asset and the income from that asset is already being included in the tax return of the person who actually owns or controls that asset.

Beneficial Owner

A beneficial owner is the real person who ultimately owns or controls a company, asset, or arrangement, even if the legal title is in another person’s or entity’s name.

Beneficiary

A beneficiary is a person or entity designated to receive money, property, or other advantages from a will, trust, insurance policy, or other financial account.

Mandatory filing of return in few cases

It is compulsory for every individual except for a company or a firm who is not required to report income under any provisions of section 139(1) to file a return of income if during the previous year he:

1. Has deposited an amount or total of amounts more than Rs 1 crore in one or more current accounts maintained with a bank or a cooperative bank.

2. Has incurred total expenditure of more than Rs. 2 lakh for himself or any other person for travelling to a foreign country.

3. Has incurred total expenditure of more than Rs 1 lakh towards payment of electricity bill.

4. Satisfy other mentioned conditions.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notified additional conditions under the seventh proviso to section 139(1), where it mandated return filing through a notification (No. 37/2022) on April 21, 2022. Following are such additional conditions:

1. If total sales, turnover or gross receipts of the business are more than Rs 60 lakh during the previous year

2. If the total gross receipt of the profession exceeds Rs. 10 lakh during the previous year

3. If the total of tax deducted and collected in the case of a person during the previous year is Rs 25,000 or more. The threshold limit shall be Rs. 50,000 in the case of a resident individual of the age of 60 years or more or

4. If the aggregate deposit in one or more savings bank accounts of the person is Rs. 50 lakhs or more during the previous year.

Return to be Verified by whom?

According to section 140, the return of income is to be verified by:

A. In the case of an individual:

i. The individual should verify the return himself.

ii. If he is outside India, he or someone he has officially authorised can verify the return.

iii. If he is mentally unable to manage his affairs, his guardian or another responsible person can verify it.

iv. If he cannot verify the return for any other valid reason, a person authorised by him can do it on his behalf.

B. For a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), the return must be verified by the karta. If the karta is outside India or is mentally unable to handle his responsibilities, then any other adult member of the family can verify the return.

C. For a company, the income tax return must be verified by the managing director. If the managing director cannot verify it for some valid reason, or if the company does not have a managing director, then any director of the company can verify the return.

Updated Return

An Updated Return (ITR-U) is a special provision under Section 139(8A) of the Indian Income Tax Act that allows a taxpayer to correct errors, disclose omitted income, or file a return if the original and belated deadlines have passed. It offers a final opportunity for voluntary compliance, but it comes with the liability to pay additional tax and cannot be used to claim or increase a refund or report losses.

Filling the return through Tax return Preparers

To help certain groups of people file their income tax returns easily, the government has introduced the Tax Return Preparer (TRP) Scheme. Under this scheme, these people can file their returns with the help of a trained and authorized Tax Return Preparer, who is allowed to assist them in preparing and submitting their returns.

Tax Return Preparer

A Tax Return Preparer (TRP) is a trained person who is officially authorised under the TRPScheme to help people file their income tax returns. However, this person cannot be someone who is already covered under section 288(2)(ii)/(iii)/(iv) such as lawyers or accountants allowed to represent taxpayers or an employee of the person whose return is being filed.

Specified class or classes of person

‘Specified class of persons’ means any taxpayer who has to file an income tax return, except companies and people whose accounts must be audited under Section 44AB or any other law.