The extended deadline for filing income-tax returns for FY13 has expired. The deadline was extended from July 31, 2013, to August 5 as from this year, online filing has been made mandatory for taxpayers with income above R5 lakh, resulting in an increase in traffic on the tax authority?s web portal.
In a haste to meet the deadline, you might have forgotten to disclose some income or claim some deductions. In such a case, the Income-Tax Act, 1961, offers you an opportunity to revise your tax return, provided the omission of wrong statement in the original return was due to a bonafide mistake.
Section 139(5) of the IT Act provides that you can revise a return within a year from the end of the assessment year or before completion of assessment whichever is earlier. Hence, revised return can be filed by March 31, 2015, or before completion on assessment, whichever is earlier, for FY13. Further, only original return (or a return filed in pursuance to a notice under Section 142) can be revised and omissions/wrong statements corrected. Some common incomes that people forget to disclose or claim as deductions are:
Interest on fixed deposit: Many believe that interest from fixed deposit is not taxable; however, this is not true. Banks will deduct TDS at 10% on interest above R10,000 and the balance tax still needs to be deposited.
Interest on savings bank account: Interest earned on savings bank account above R10,000 is liable to tax.
Income on deemed-to-be let-out property: If you have more than one house property, the income from the second house should be offered to tax. If it has not been let out, then there will be a ?deemed-to-be let-out? value, which needs to be offered to tax.
Deduction for donations: It?s likely that you have forgotten to claim donation deduction under Section 80G of the IT Act or any other deductions which you are eligible.
Additionally, if there are mistakes like change in BSR code or tax deduction account (TAN) number, a taxpayer can rectify his return online. This rectification can be made after receiving an order under Section 143(1) of the Act from CPC Bangalore.
If you have made a mistake of not disclosing any income or have forgotten to claim a deduction in your return, you can file a revised return and avoid penalty exposure. After all it?s always better to avoid any unnecessary assessment proceedings later and enjoy peace of mind.
The writer is a director at KPMG. The views expressed are personal