The government has extended the timelines for various income tax compliances, including the filing of belated or revised return for 2019-20 fiscal, till May 31.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has said that the filing of the belated income tax return under sub-section (4) and revised return under sub-section (5) of Section 139 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for the assessment year 2020-21 has been extended to May 31, 2021. The previous deadline for the filing was March 31, 2021.

An ITR filed after the due date is called a belated return. Check here the step-by-step guide to file a Belated Income Tax Return.

Penalty for late filing of income tax return:

If you file your ITR after the deadline, then a late filing fee will be levied. The maximum penalty can be up to Rs. 10,000. On the other hand, if the tax evaded exceeds Rs 25 lakh the punishment could be 6 months to 7 years", as per the website of the Income Tax Department.

Here is how to file an Income Tax Return after the due date:

The process of filing a belated return is the same as filing the return on or before the due date. If a belated return is filed after the income tax due date, the taxpayer would be liable to pay the tax along with Interest @ 1% per month (simple interest) under Section 234A.

If you are filing a belated return for FY2019-20, then you need to fill the applicable ITRs as notified for this FY, and not for any previous or later FY. The relevant assessment year for a financial year is the immediately succeeding financial year.

This means that you can file a belated return for FY2019-20 by March 31, 2021, i.e., before the end of the assessment year (AY)2020-21. The CBDT provided relief to taxpayers in view of the current Covid-19 pandemic. Now the last date to file belated ITR for the assessment year 2020-21 has been extended to May 31, 2021.