In a relief for salaried tax payers, the government recently extended the deadline to file income tax returns by one month till August 31. The earlier deadline was July 31.
According to a statement from the Income Tax Department, “The due date to file Income Tax returns for Assessment Year (AY) 2018-19 is July 31, 2018.
For certain categories of tax payers, upon considerations of the matter, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended to August 31.”
Until the last assessment year there was no penalty for filing belated income tax returns. However, this penalty is applicable from AY 2018-19. A new section 234F was inserted by the government in the Income Tax Act.
As per this section, an individual would have to pay a fee of up to ₹10,000 for filing income tax return after the due dates specified in section 139(1) of the Act
