With only three days left before the deadline, community social media platform LocalCircles has found in a survey that 27 per cent individual income taxpayers are yet to file their FY-23 Income Tax Returns (ITRs). The study with 12,000 respondents (68 per cent men, 32 per cent women) from 315 districts also mentioned that 14 per cent Indians are unsure about meeting the July 31 target.
According to the findings, 7 in 10 (73 per cent) of the respondents have already filed their income tax returns, while 5 per cent have tried but had difficulty in filing and will re-try before July 31.
About eight per cent of those surveyed said they haven’t filed their returns yet but will comfortably do so by the end of the month, and 9 per cent indicated that it will be impossible for them to file the ITR by July 31.
Last week, revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra stated that it is unlikely that an extension will be provided to citizens to file their income tax returns for the financial year 2022-23 and that taxpayers should complete filing their returns before the deadline.
The findings come amid widespread disruptions caused by heavy monsoon rain and floods in several parts of India, including Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Delhi-NCR, impacting the lives and work of hundreds of thousands of people.
Floods and related power outages have been pointed out among the top reasons for taxpayers’ inability to file their returns by July 31.
Based on the feedback from community discussions on LocalCircles, it appears that people are suggesting the government consider a two-week deadline extension.
The I-T department has been giving repeated reminders to file the returns as soon as possible to avoid a last-minute rush. Enlisting the benefits of timely filing of ITR for taxpayers, it said the early filing will help in hassle-free access to loans and credit facilities, along with helping in the processing of VISA applications.
Consequences of not filing ITR on time include — certain losses cannot be carried forward, levy of interest under section 234A, and levy of fee under section 234F.
Comments
0 comment