If you made a mistake while filing ITR for AY 2019-20 (FY 2018-19), presently, there is an alternative to revise the return. The revised return will take the place of the unique return and will be considered as furnished on the date of return was filed previously.
A revised income tax return can be filed before the expiry of the respective fiscal year or by the end of the year, which comes earlier.
The due date to outfit the revised return structure is extended from March 31, 2020, to 30th November 2020 for the assessment year 2019-20 due to the COVID-19 outbreak in India by the Indian government.
If the reason is other than an inappropriate or omission statement, then the return structure can’t be updated. Revised Return of Income Tax can be filed by an assesses whenever before the expiry of the relevant Assessment Year or before the completion of the assessment (whichever is earlier).
Overview
In simple words, in case you have filed your Income Tax Returns before the due date of filing of Returns u/s 139(1) yet later realized that there was any exclusion or mistake in filing your Income Tax Return, you need not stress as you can generally file a Revised Return of Income Tax under section 139(5) expressing the correct points of interest.
For example: If a taxpayer files the ITR for the Financial Year 2017-18 i.e. Assessment Year 2018-19 and later finds out about a mistake he had made, he can file a Revised Return of Income Tax anytime up to the mentioned deadline by the authorities or before the completion of fiscal year whichever is earlier.
There is no restriction on the number of times a return can be revised and it very well may be revised any number of times provided it is inside the prescribed time limits.
In this manner, in the above case, the Revision can be applied any number of times provided it is filed before 31st March 2019 or before the completion of the assessment. It ought to be noted that on the off chance that you have received the refund of Income Tax, that does not mean that your assessment is complete.
Income Tax Refund under Section 143(1)
You can at present revise your income tax return even if you have received an Income Tax Refund. For income tax refund, insinuation under Section 143(1) is sent which is different from the Assessment as mentioned above.
The Revision should be possible either in the same ITR Form in which the first return was filed or in a different ITR Form. On the filing of this new return under section 139(5), the first return filed under section 139(1) will be deemed to be pulled back and substituted by the Revised Return.
Moreover, the govt likewise does not levy any fees or penalties for filing a revised return.
In case the return is intended to be revised online, the assessee is required to outfit the 15-digit acknowledgment number of the first return. On receiving this revised return, the Income Tax Department searches for the first return which is retrieved utilizing the 15-digit acknowledgment number. The first file return is replaced by the newly file revised return.
Revision is allowed just if the mistake was unintentional. The benefit of Section 139 (5) can’t be claimed by a person who has filed fraudulent returns. Section 139 (5) will apply just to cases of ‘oversight or wrong statements’ and not to cases of ‘concealment or false statements’. If the omission(s) in the first return is intentional, the assessee will be penalized.
Please Note: For this section, the word assessment will refer to the assessment made under Section 143(3) and Section 144. The assessment made under section 143(1) won’t be treated as an assessment for this purpose as a revised return can be filed even after the suggestion under section 143(1) has been served.
Process To File Updated ITR
The revised return filing process is similar to the first return filing. While filing the revised returns, the taxpayer should file it under section 139(5) of the Income-tax Act. In order to select the section make use of the tab ‘return filed under’ and select ‘ Revised u/s 139(5)’. The new form will request the taxpayer to provide some additional details of previously filed ITR such as receipt acknowledgement number and date of filing of original ITR.
“Once the scrutiny assessment of your ITR is completed under section 143(3) of the Income-tax Act by the assessing officer, then you cannot file a revised return. As a taxpayer, you must remember that the deadline to rectify the mistake in your tax return and to file a belated return is the same, i.e. March 31st of the relevant assessment year. Therefore, if you file a belated return on March 31st, 2022 for the FY 2019-20 (AY 2020-21) you will miss out on the chance to rectify the mistake done you, if any, in your ITR”, says Abhishek Soni, Chief Executive Officer, tax2win.in, an ITR filing company.
It is always better to revise your returns rather than wait to act on a notice sent by the Income Tax Department. There is no specific limit for filing the revised returns. Each time a taxpayer files a revised return, the form will request the details of the originally filed ITR. Even though there is no specific number to limit the revised filing, one should take utmost care to avoid unnecessary hassles and confusion.
Significant Points to Consider While Filing Revised Income Tax Return
- For the FY 2018-19, to file the revised return structure is March 31, 2020
- File revised return just in case of wrong and oversight statements. The revised return with ‘not disclosed’ income in the first structure can be scrutinized by the assessing officer.
- Compulsorily verify the proposed revised return structure
- The first return is replaced by the revised return in the prescribed bracket
- It is crucial to consider the due date of providing the acknowledgment number of the previously furnished return structure.
The income tax department won’t accept the revised returns unless it is verified by the taxpayer. The return can be verified either online or offline. Some of the e-verification methods available are verification using Aadhaar OTP, EVC through net banking, etc. You can also send out a signed copy of ITR-V (Acknowledgment receipt) to the Income Tax Department Centralized Processing Centre, Bangalore offline verification.
