The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the deadline to file the income tax return (ITR) for the financial year 2019-20 to December 31, beyond the normal date of July 31, owing to the current coronavirus pandemic.

According to the rules, persons under 60 years of age receiving Rs 250,000 or more per year are expected to file ITRs, while Rs 500,000 is the cap for senior citizens or those between 60 and 80 years of age.


By imposing a fine of up to Rs.10,000 as opposed to the Rs.5,000 levied last year, the government increased the penalty sum for violating the deadline this year. In the Budget of 2017, the procedure of charging late filing fees under section 234F was adopted and became applicable for the financial year 2017-18 or the appraisal year 2018-19.


The hefty late filing fee is payable only if in the current financial year the taxpayer’s net gross revenue, i.e. income after seeking eligible deductions and tax exemptions, reaches Rs 500,000. Individuals with taxable income of up to Rs 500,000, if they file their ITR after December 31, will have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000. The same penalty would go up to Rs 10,000 for people whose gross income is greater than Rs 500,000.


However, due to the reforms introduced in the Income-tax Act, 1961, through Budget 2019, which stipulates that the following groups of citizens would not be exempted from the penalty, there are exemptions to the above provision.

  1. Individuals who in one or more banking accounts have deposited a sum or aggregates above Rs.1 crore
  2. Individuals who, because of international travel, have sustained expenses totaling Rs 2 lakh.
  3. Individuals that incur expense or gross expenditure owing to energy usage of Rs 1 lakh and more.

The declaration of ITR dues also ensures the determination of the interest owed on the tax refund as of 1 April of the applicable assessment year. The person loses out on a certain amount of interest in the case of late filings.

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