What To Do Before Deadline for Filing the IT Audit Report
November 15, 2024, is the due date to file an Income tax return (ITR) for FY 2023-24, for those assessee who are within an audit of income tax and the other designated assesses. It is crucial to mark that this is already an extended due date as the original due date was October 31, 2024. No announcement was there to date for any additional extensions to the same amended due date which makes it not happen that the government wishes to determine to push it back again under the existing situations.
What Pre-requisite You Can Do Before Filing ITR by November 15, 2024?
The ITR filing process is related to the submission of a tax audit report. The experts stress that the information furnished in the tax audit report is required to be directed in the ITR, emphasizing the interconnected nature of the two. Hence before ITR filing it is significant to provide your tax audit report.
It is the responsibility of the taxpayer liable for the audit of income tax to furnish the information of the tax audit in his ITR (along with the date of furnishing the audit report, acknowledgement number of audit report, etc.) This information could not be submitted in the ITR, till the submission of the tax audit report. Hence a tax audit filing is required to precede the ITR filing of the taxpayer.
The ITR form does not get uploaded if you skip the tax audit report filing. The reason behind this is the use of the ITR forms needs the date of uploading the tax audit report. The returns do not get uploaded if the field has not been filled.
September 30, 2024, was the due date for the submission of the tax audit report for FY 2023-24 which was subsequently extended to October 7, 2024. If you skipped the due date then ensure to provide the tax audit report before ITR filing. Skipping to do so can put you at risk of two breaches of the law, not submitting the ITR and skipping the submission of the tax audit report.
If the assessee does not file it before the due date of furnishing the tax audit report (originally September 30, 2024, extended to October 7, 2024) then it is suggested that they are required to file the tax audit report via filing the penalty (if charged) and then provide the ITR by November 15, 2024. Unable to do the same shall consequence in the ITR being considered as defective. A penalty will charged for a late tax audit filing report which can be up to Rs 1.5 lakh or 0.5% of total sales, whichever is lower.
It needs to be noted that the income tax department has the authority to impose a penalty for late tax audit report filing. Such penalties are not automatic but may be applicable in the scrutiny of the tax department.
If the assessee is not able to provide a needed tax audit report within the deadline (October 7, 2024), then they are qualified for the extended ITR due date filing of November 15, 2024. For those who have furnished their audit report within the said time the same extension applies to those only. Losing the due date of the audit shall result in losing the November 15 extension, and any late filing shall be within the penalties along with the fine u/s 271B and interest on any unpaid taxes.
Which Assessees Must E-File ITR?
The below-mentioned assessees are required to submit the ITR by November 15, 2024, for FY 2023-24:
A company (e.g. an Indian company, or a foreign body corporate including a foreign company)
Assessee whose accounts are required to be audited within any statute (e.g. under the Income Tax Act or Limited Liability Partnership Act or co-operative Societies' Act etc.).
Partners of a firm whose accounts are required to be audited within any statute.
But for the matter of the transfer pricing, i.e. if the assessees secure any international or specified domestic transaction, the ITR filing due date shall be 30 November 2024.
Due Date of ITR Filing for Transferring Price of Tax Audit Matters
The assessees who are in the transfer pricing tax audit matters do not need to worry since the due date of ITR filing of November 15, 2024, is not applicable to them.
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The assessees are required to provide a transfer pricing audit report in Form 3CEB by 31st October 2024 who are involved in the transactions with the overseas group companies for the FY 2023-24. 30 November 2024 is the due date for ITR filing for this assessee.
If till now the transfer pricing report has not been filed then the same is required to be provided as some filing information from Form 3CEB is needed in the ITR. Skipping Form 3CEB transfer pricing tax audit due date can result in a penalty of Rs 1 lakh with an additional 2% of the transaction value for international transactions with the pertinent parties. Unable to attain the 30 November 2024 due date for ITR will prevent the assessee from taking the losses forward for FY 2023-24.
What Shall Take Place If You Are Unable to Submit the ITR?
If you were needed to submit your ITR by November 15, 2024, however unable to perform the same shall required to provide a belated ITR while filing a penalty fee.
If the assessee cannot submit the ITR by November 15, 2024, they can provide a belated return by December 31, 2024. The assessee will be within specific outcomes that comprise the interest u/s 234A and 234B. u/s 234F a penalty will be charged which can vary between Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 as per the taxable income.
If you are providing the belated ITR post-filing the tax audit report on or before the due date then you may face the below-mentioned outcomes-
The assessee shall be required to bear the outcomes for the late return filing specified below-
- Late filing penalty of up to Rs 5,000
- No carry forward of losses allowed
An additional aspect is to mark that even with the extension in place the interest u/s 234A & B will still apply in matters where there is a tax obligation.