With respect to assessment year 2018-19 or financial year 2017-18, the last date to file the revised return is 31 March 2019

You have filed your income tax return or ITR for assessment year 2018-19. Now, you realize that you have made a mistake while filing the return. Don’t lose heart, the income tax department provides you an option to file a revised return. The revised return replaces the original return and is deemed to have been filed on the same date on which the original return was filed, say tax experts. A revised income tax return can be filled at any time before the expiry of the relevant assessment year or before completion of the assessment, whichever is earlier, says Naveen Wadhwa, DGM at Taxmann.com.

The last date to file the revised return with respect to assessment year 2018-19 is March 31, 2019. But there is a catch. “The option to file the revised return is not available if the reason is other than omission or wrong statement,” says Wadhwa.

How to file a revised ITR

The process of filing a revised ITR is the same as filing an original return. Visit the e-filing website of Income Tax Department and then log in with your credentials. In Part A - General Information, the taxpayer has to choose ‘Revised Return under Section 139(5)’ from the drop-down box and in the in the same tab, provide information to identify the original return which shall be ‘Order Acknowledgment Number’ and ‘Date of filing of Original Return’.

A snapshot of Income Tax Department’s e-filing website.
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How many times you can file a revised ITR

“Assessees can revise a return every time they discover any omission or wrong statement within the time limit prescribed for filing a revised return. However, one should take utmost care while filing a revised return so as to avoid complications in future and should not misuse the facility,” says Wadhwa.

5 key things to remember about filing a revised ITR

1) When the assessee files a revised return, the original return stands withdrawn and is substituted by the revised return

2) The last date for filing a revised return is end of the relevant assessment year. For financial year 2017-18, the revised return can be filed up to March 31, 2019.

3) “File the revised return only to rectify genuine omissions or wrong statements. If any income was intentionally not disclosed in the return and an assessee chooses to file a revised return after receipt of a show-cause notice, the assessing officer may ignore the revised return and initiate a scrutiny,” says Wadhwa.

4) It is mandatory to mention the date of filing and acknowledgement number of the original return filed, Wadhwa adds.