Every taxpayer is required to verify their filed IT report, as it is considered as a self-attested proof of one’s assets an income. Not fulfilling the criteria will result in immediate annulment of one’s IT return by the Central Processing Centre.
Invalid IT return will be treated as not-existing documentation of one’s income tax liability for that financial year. Any individual facing this issue will be required to file the return again as a belated entry at that point of time.
Taxpayers may come across several scenarios during income tax e-filing that might prevent them from verifying their filed return within the stipulated time frame. Fortunately, there are also several methods that they can follow that will help them avoid such scenario.
Take a look at some essential factors you should remember to avoid filing invalid IT returns –
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Time limit – A maximum of 120 days are allocated to verify the IT return, calculated from the day of completing income tax e-filing.
For example, if a taxpayer completed tax filing on the due date, i.e. 31st July, then he or she has to verify the same within 120 days. Any delays will render the IT return as invalid.
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Delay request – Taxpayers can file a delay request to the Income Tax Department of India if he or she faces a genuine issue preventing the timely validation of the return.
Such exemption is sanctioned only if the taxpayer is found to have experiencing a genuine hardship on merits, and their claim is found genuine and correct. A taxpayer can also file similar request if their income cannot be assessed by any particular entity.
An individual needs to complete income tax e-filing or to file condonation delay request. Users can login using their PAN details and password, following which they can navigate to ‘Service Request’ option under ‘My Account’ tab to raise a condonation request.
There is no specific time limit applicable to file condonation request; however, it is recommended to do so as soon as possible.
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Issues caused by invalid ITR – An invalid income tax return can raise several issues. One might face –
- Issues with income tax refund claims.
- Problems while applying for credits. Income tax return is considered as one of the most essential documents required for a home loan, personal loan, business loan, and other forms of secured and unsecured credits as it acts as a proof of income. Invalid income tax return may lower creditworthiness in the long run.
- Problems while applying for visa.
- Under Section 234F, taxpayers are liable to pay a fine if they fail to validate their tax returns after income tax e-filing. This can impose additional financial pressure on an individual.
Timely verification of income tax return is essential, as it acts as a proof that the return is filed by the taxpayer themselves and allows for a final scrutiny of the same before processing. One might miss out on several essential factors, like tax exemption provided on joint home loan, loan against property, etc.
Borrowers can enjoy substantial exemptions if they utilise the advance according to guidelines imposed by the IT department of India. Credits like home loan are offered by various financial institutions in India, against easy to meet eligibility criteria and simple application process.
Housing Finance Companies like Bajaj Housing Finance Limited even provide pre-approved offers to customers, which further streamlines the application process and helps save time. You can check your pre-approved offer online by sharing only some essential details.
Remembering the above mentioned points will help taxpayers avoid invalid income tax returns and successfully navigate the income tax e-filing process.
