Filing income tax return for FY 2019-20 after 01.01.2021 and getting late fees under 234F? Here’s why..

The due date for filing of Income tax return for FY 2019-20 was extended to 15.02.2021 for companies and taxpayers who are getting their accounts audited under any act and partner’s of such firm and 10.01.2021 for all other taxpayers.

Since the due date for filing of Income tax return has been extended for all so is the applicability of late fees u/s 234F which is late fees for filing of Income tax return after due date. Section 234F is as under:

“Without prejudice to the provisions of this Act, where a person required to furnish a return of income under section 139, fails to do so within the time prescribed in sub-section (1) of the said section, he shall pay, by way of fee, a sum of,—

(a) five thousand rupees, if the return is furnished on or before the 31st day of December of the assessment year;

(b) ten thousand rupees in any other case:

Provided that if the total income of the person does not exceed five lakh rupees, the fee payable under this section shall not exceed one thousand rupees.

(2) The provisions of this section shall apply in respect of return of income required to be furnished for the assessment year commencing on or after the 1st day of April, 2018.”

Now, as the time limit mentioned u/s 139(1) has been increased for all, no late fees should be charged if anyone files return after 31.12.2020 but before their respective due date.

However when you file return online on e filing portal or using the utility made available by Income tax department, there is a late fees being charged by such utility u/s 234F.

When a person is using any third party software to file their return no late fees is being charged on the same.

The most probable reason for the same could be that Income tax department has not updated the last date for filing income tax return in their software’s or utility and hence according to the utility last date for filing of income tax return is 31.12.2020 and hence if anyone is filing return after 31.12.2020 it is charging late fees.

On the other hand many third party software providers have already updated the last date in their software and hence you don’t see late fees in third party software.

Probable solution:

The only probable solution available with you right now is to manually remove late fees from the Income tax return and file the same as the Income tax department might take few days to update their utility.

So before filing your income tax return do check and manually remove late fees.

Latest update on late fees by Income tax department:

You can read the same here: https://twitter.com/IncomeTaxIndia/status/1345393355929255943