New Delhi: Have you missed reporting or rectifying your mistakes in your Income Tax Return (ITR) by December 31, 2022? There is no need for you to panic. You still have one more chance. Now you can use the ITR-U option. As per Section 139 (1) of the Income Tax Act, the original deadline for filing ITR for the financial year 2021-22 (Assessment Year 2022-23) was 31 July 2022. After this, taxpayers were also allowed to file revised returns by rectifying mistakes till 31 December. If you have not been able to do so, then you can file ITR-U under Section 139 (8A) of the Income Tax Act.
The Government of India introduced the option of ITR-U in the 2022 budget. This facility can help all those taxpayers who have not filed their ITR or have made mistakes in their previous returns. With ITR-U, taxpayers can correct mistakes in their ITR for the next two years even after the assessment year. For example, ITR-U for Assessment Year (AY) 2021-22 (FY 2020-21) can be filed by 31 March 2024. Similarly, ITR-U for AY 2022-23 can be filed by 31 March 2025.
Report any income
ITR-U can be used to report any income that you have not declared in your previous returns. Any taxpayer can take advantage of this facility. It can be used even if a person has missed filing ITR in a particular financial year.
But have to pay the fine
There are certain penalties associated with ITR-U filing. If you fail to report the income, you will have to pay a 25% additional tax and interest on the unreported income. It has to be filled within 1 year from the end of the assessment year (the year in which you are filing ITR-U). If you have taken more than one year, then the amount of fine will be 50 percent. You can fill it out by visiting the Income Tax Department website. Remember that ITR-U cannot be used for refund claims.