ITR: Taxpayers Face Glitches On Income Tax Return Filing; What Happens If You Miss July 31 Deadline?

The income Tax department has proudly announced that more than 7 crore income tax returns (ITR) have been filed so far on July 31, 2024, out of which over 50 lakh ITRs were filed before 7 pm. However, a long queue of taxpayers has shown frustration over glitches in the process of filing ITR. If the taxpayers failed to file their ITR by July 31, then the consequences of late filing is severe.

A user on X said "I am getting a bank validation error in the Income tax portal, and unable to file my ITR."

A CA through his X handler said, "Income Tax India is asking for gender while registration of HUF and it is not accepting any gender. Hence I am unable to register HUF PAN in the portal. Please resolve it today as I need to file the Income Tax Return of HUF after its registration."

Another user has tagged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying that they are unable to upload pin code, dist, state etc in the e-filing portal of income tax."

Another CA via X handle said, "The income tax portal is down for hours. Last day glitch. What Infosys is doing."

Meanwhile, a user shared an image of the glitch he faced during ITR filing. He said, "Portal not working properly.."

On the other hand, Income Tax Department, "More than 7 crore ITRs have been filed so far (31st July), out of which over 50 lakh ITRs have been filed today till 7 pm!"

The department added that to assist taxpayers for ITR filing, tax payment and other related services, its helpdesk is functioning on a 24x7 basis, and we are providing support through calls, live chats, WebEx sessions & Twitter/X.

Also, the department extended its gratitude to taxpayers and tax professionals for helping us reach this milestone, and urge all those who haven't filed ITR for AY 2024-25, to file their ITR.

The last date for filing an ITR is July 31, 2024. A taxpayer could still file their ITR after missing the deadline, July 31, however, it will have its cons including penalties. These are called belated ITRs.

As per the ClearTax report, if you missed filing ITR for the previous year within the due date, you can file a belated return on or before 31st December of the relevant assessment year. For Example, for the AY 2024-25, the timeline to file a belated return is on or before 31 December 2024. In case you miss the belated return deadline, then you may file ITR-U in certain specified cases.

Further, the ClearTax report pointed out that the amendment vide Finance Act 2021 reduced the timeline of filing the belated return. With effect from AY 2021-22, you can file the belated return three months before the end of the relevant assessment year or before the completion of the assessment, whichever is earlier.

There are still drawbacks to filing belated returns. For instance, a late fee will be levied under section 234F, where Rs 1,000 fees will be imposed on taxpayers with income of up to Rs 5 lakh. The penalty rises to Rs 5,000 on taxpayers with income of more than Rs 5 lakh.

Additionally, deductions or tax exemptions or in simple words tax benefits under sections like 10A, 10B, 80-IA, 80-IB, 80-IC, 80-ID and 80-IE will not be applicable if ITR is filed after July 31.