Income Tax Return: Why should you verify your ITR within 30 days of filing?

As the last date to file an income tax return (ITR) looms closer, taxpayers are seen scurrying around to gather the necessary documents. The last date for filing the return is July 31.

And once you have filed your tax return, it is important to verify the same within 30 days.

Recently, the I-T department informed taxpayers that they must verify their return within 30 days of filing. Delayed verification may have adverse consequences, as per the Income Tax (I-T) Act, 1961.

How do you verify the return?

1. The most convenient and hassle-free way to verify the tax return is to e-verify the return through Aadhaar-OTP, net banking or a pre-validated bank account/ demat account.

2. If you are not comfortable with the online verification, you can also send the physical copy of ITR-V to Central Processing Centre (CPC) in Bengaluru. However, this is a more time-consuming exercise.

Some of the popular ways to e-verify the return:

A. OTP on mobile number registered with Aadhaar, or

B. EVC generated through your pre-validated bank account, or

C. EVC generated through your pre-validated demat account, or

D. EVC through ATM (offline method), or

E. Net Banking, or

F. Digital Signature Certificate (DSC).

How will you know whether verification is complete?

After you e-verify your return, a success message and a Transaction ID will be displayed. An email will also be sent to the email ID registered with the income tax e-filing portal.

Late fee charges

It is noteworthy that if 30 days have elapsed, the date of verification will be considered as the date of filing. Delayed verification will lead to late fee charges under section 234F and other consequences as per CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) notification number 2 of 2024 dated March 31, 2024.

The late fee is ₹1,000 for a total income up to ₹5 lakh and ₹5,000 for a total income of more than ₹5 lakh.