New deadline to submit tax audit report is approaching; File it, otherwise be prepared to pay Rs 1.5 lakh or 0.5% of sales as fine.

the income tax audit deadline is October 7, 2024 for fiscal year 2023-24 (AY 2024-25). However, this deadline is an extended deadline, which means if you were pinning your hopes on the extended deadline, don’t do it. The original deadline to submit income. tax audit report on the e-filing ITR portal was September 30, 2024. The government is unlikely to extend the deadline again.

“In response to a representation made by “Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industries” #Udhampur, an extension of the date of submission of Audit Report for the assessment year 2024-25 has been requested from the Hon’ble Finance Minister. Thank you, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman ji @nsitharaman for accepting the request and issuing orders accordingly,” Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said on X (formerly Twitter).

What happens if you do not submit a tax audit report by October 7, 2024?

According to SR Patnaik, Partner (Head of Taxes), Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, the extension of the deadline has been provided only for electronic filing of the tax audit reports within seven days until October 7, 2024.

“This means that the tax The audit should have been completed by September 30, 2024 and submission can be made by October 7, 2024. In case these deadlines are not met, there would be consequences as prescribed in the provisions of the Income tax Act of 1961. For non-compliance with section 44AB (tax audit), a penalty of 0.5% of the total sales, turnover or gross receipts or Rs 1.5 lakh, whichever is less, will be charged.” says Patnaik.

Your ITR may be considered faulty if you do not submit a tax audit report

Only those taxpayers who are required to make a income tax audit You need to upload the audit report first and then file an ITR; Both processes are linked to each other and cannot be skipped. The original deadline for filing ITR, if tax audit is applicable in your case, is October 31, 2024, for the financial year 2023-24 (AY 2024-25).

“If you fail to upload the tax audit report even after the due date by paying penalty, your tax return will be considered defective,” says Patnaik of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.

Skipping the ITR filing even if a tax audit is filed has equally bad consequences

According to Parveen Kumar, Partner, direct tax At Dewan PN Chopra & Co., if you miss the income tax deadline of October 31, 2024 for the financial year 2023-24, you will have to file a late ITR. “Even these RTIs can only be filed up to December 31 of the corresponding assessment year,” he says.

Kumar explains the consequences of filing late:

• Late payment charges will be payable under section 234F-Rs 1000. (Rs 5000 if the declared income exceeds Rs 5 lakh),
• Interest on outstanding taxes,
• Losses cannot be carried forward.

According to Kumar, these are the consequences of not filing any ITR even if the tax audit report is filed:

• Grief: The assessing officer can impose a fine of Rs 5,000 under section 271F.
• Interest on tax owed: Interest may be charged under Section 234A on the outstanding tax liability.
• Issuance of reevaluation notice in accordance with article 148: The tax department can take up the matter for detailed scrutiny by issuing notice of income escaping assessment under section 148.
• No loss carryover: Any losses such as business losses or capital losses incurred by taxpayers cannot be carried forward to future years if the ITR is not filed within the due date.
• Prosecution: In some cases, especially when the total tax liability is significant, the Income Tax Department may initiate proceedings for non-filing of ITR.