Although you must be feeling relieved after filing the income tax return by the deadline of December 31^st 2021, yet there are few essential steps you need to follow in order to call this task fully-done.

You Must Verify Your Returns

If you have filed your return on or before the deadline, the next step on the line is to verify your returns. You have to do it with in a stipulated time period of 120 days after filing your return. In case you fail to verify, your tax return would remain invalid and it will be deemed as if you have not filed your return.

After 120 days, you will have to provide a solid reason for the delay through a service request. If the Income Tax (IT) department accepts your remittance then you can verify your return, else you might have to pay late filing fee along with whatever other applicable charges.

Verification can be done by two methods. In the first method, you have to mail (registered or speed post) a duly signed copy of your acknowledgement form to the IT department. Alternately, you can opt for e-verification. This can be done with the help of your Aadhaar number, bank account or demat account. A One Time Password (OTP) will be sent to your linked mobile number. You have to submit this password on the IT department portal for completing the verification.

You Can Revise Your Mistakes

There are chances of committing errors especially if you are filing the return by yourself and that too near the deadline. You might have used a wrong return Form or filled incorrect personal details. You might also have forgotten to mention a source of income or deduction in your return. In case you want to make corrections, you can do so by going to the IT department e-portal and select revised return option. This is like filing your return again with the corrections you wanted to make. You can revise your return as many times as you like. This is like filing a fresh copy each time. But it is advised not to do it frequently with major changes as it may raise an alarm for the IT officials and they may call for a detailed scrutiny of your return.

While submitting a revised return, you need to mention your acknowledgement number and the date of filing the original return. You need to file the revised return 3 months before the end of assessment year or the end of assessment, whichever is earlier. The current deadline for revised return is 31^st March 2022. But there is one important thing that needs to be mentioned. You would not be able to revise if the IT department has already processed your return before the March deadline. In that case you would have already been intimated by the department that your return has been processed. You also need to verify this revised return through the process already mentioned.

If your return is already processed then for any corrections, you can file a rectification request with the IT department. In this request you can mention the mistakes that you made in your return. It is also possible that there is a mismatch between your calculations and the one made by the IT department. In that case you would receive an intimation by the latter. You can give your justification, if you have to, through the rectification request. The department needs to respond within six months from the end of month the request was filed.

Claim Your Tax Refunds

If you have paid more tax than your tax liabilities then you can seek refund for the same. Also, if the advance tax paid by you on the basis of self-assessment is more than the regular assessment, you will be eligible for a refund. You can avail your tax refunds while filing your income tax return. You may need to fill Form 16 or Form 30 as the case may be. The refund claims need to be submitted before the end of the financial year.

Your income tax refunds will not be entertained in the following cases.

After 6 consecutive assessment years; and if the claims made are more than Rs.50lacs for a single assessment year.

Normally the amount is refunded through a direct transfer to your bank account or alternately the department can refund by issuing a cheque on your name.

You can check the status of your refunds by clicking the ITR status on the income tax e-portal.

That’s it for today. We will be back with more informative articles in the coming weeks.

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