Income Tax Audit Report Extended Deadline Ends Today: The extended last date for submission of tax audit report by the Income Tax Department is also ending today i.e. 7 October 2024. If you have not yet submitted your tax audit report, today is the last chance to complete the task. Taxpayers who fail to do so even today may have to pay heavy fines. This fine can be up to Rs 1.5 lakh.
Today is the last day of the new deadline
October 7, 2024, is the last date for submission of tax audit report for the financial year 2023-24 (assessment year 2024-25). Taxpayers who do not submit their audit reports by this date will have to pay a penalty of Rs 1.5 lakh or 0.5% of total sales (whichever is less). This deadline was earlier 30 September 2024, which has been extended till today. Once the deadline has been extended, there is no hope of further relief. Therefore, taxpayers should take this seriously and should not waste this opportunity.
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What will happen if tax audit report is not submitted?
If you do not submit your tax audit report, you will not only have to pay heavy penalty but your Income Tax Return (ITR) will also be considered ‘defective’. This process is especially applicable for those taxpayers for whom tax audit is required. You can file your ITR only after submitting the audit report. Audit reports and ITR are interlinked, and cannot be skipped.
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Apart from the fine, what else will be the loss?
If you do not file your ITR on time even after the tax audit report, you may have to face more serious consequences:
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Late fee: Under section 234F, a fine of Rs 1000 will have to be paid. If your income is more than Rs 5 lakh, then this fine can be up to Rs 5000.
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Interest: Penal interest will have to be paid on the outstanding tax.
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Non-reimbursement of losses: If you do not file ITR by the prescribed deadline, you will not be able to carry forward business losses or capital losses on your business or income to future years.
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What will happen if ITR is filed late?
If you fail to file ITR by October 31, 2024, you will have to file belated return (Belated ITR). In this situation you will get time till 31 December 2024. However, you may face these problems if you file ITR late:
– Fine: Under Section 271F, a fine of up to Rs 5000 can be imposed.
– Interest: Under section 234A, interest will be charged on the outstanding tax.
– Loss not compensated: Business or capital losses cannot be carried forward to the next year.
– Notice of Re-Assessment: Under section 148, the tax department can issue you a notice for reassessment.
– Prosecution: If the tax liability is high, the Income Tax Department can also take legal action against the taxpayer.
There was relief from increasing the deadline
On September 29, 2024, the Income Tax Department, giving relief to the taxpayers, had extended the last date for submission of tax audit report from September 30 to October 7. This was a big relief for those taxpayers who due to some reason were not able to submit the audit report on time.