30 Jun, 2012 01:23 PM

Avoid common mistakes in filing income tax return

The filing of the IT is simple these days, but there is always a possibility of committing mistakes. Here are some of the common mistakes that individual makes.

1. Choosing the wrong form

The most common mistake which an assessee commits is choosing the wrong form for filing income tax return. Various Income Tax return forms are notified by the IT department for filing income tax return.

Selecting a correct form is very essential for proper filing of income tax return.
Applicability of these forms depends on tax payer’s source of income. It is thus important to know the relevance of each of these forms
ITR-1 Form
This Return Form is to be used by an individual whose total income for the assessment year includes:-
(a) Income from Salary/ Pension; or
(b) Income from One House Property (excluding cases where loss is brought forward from previous years); or
(c) Income from Other Sources (Excluding Winning from Lottery and Income from Race Horses).
Further, in a case where the income of another person like spouse, minor child, etc. is to be clubbed with the income of the assessee, this Return Form can be used only if the income being clubbed falls into the above income categories.

ITR-2 Form
This Return Form is to be used by an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family whose total income for the assessment year includes:-
(a) Income from Salary / Pension; or
(b) Income from House Property; or
(c) Income from Capital Gains; or
(d) Income from Other Sources (including Winning from Lottery and Income from Race Horses)...
Further, in a case where the income of another person like spouse, minor child, etc. is to be clubbed with the income of the assessee, this Return Form can be used where such income falls in any of the above categories.

IT-3 Form
This Return Form is to be used by an individual or an Hindu Undivided Family who is a partner in a firm and where income chargeable to income-tax under the head “Profits or gains of business or profession” does not include any income except the income by way of any interest, salary, bonus, commission or remuneration, by whatever name called, due to, or received by him from such firm. In case a partner in the firm does not have any income from the firm by way of interest, salary, etc. and has only exempt income by way of share in the profit of the firm shall use this form only and not Form ITR-2.

ITR-4 Form
This form is applicable, both, to Individuals and HUFs who carry out any business or professional activity in addition to having sources of income applicable to ITR-3.

Read : Step-by-step guide to efiling your IT returns online

TAN no. not entered correctly

In respect of tax deducted at source (TDS), it is mandatorily required to furnish the TAN no. of the deductor.

If the TAN no. of the employer is not correctly entered or wrongly provided then you will not get the credit of your tax deducted as this is linked to your account..

Providing incorrect basic details

The basic details in respect of PAN No., address, contact no, date of birth etc are sometimes not provided properly by the taxpayer. Any wrong personal information will lead to delay in processing of income tax returns by the tax department.

Providing wrong jurisdiction

If the taxpayer provides wrong jurisdiction which is obtained from the Income Tax site through the PAN of the assessee then delay is caused in processing of income tax returns or your return may be rejected by the Department.

One should be careful while providing proper jurisdiction to avoid rejection or delay in filing of returns.

This can be found out by entering your PAN no. at https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/portal/common.do?screen=jurisdiction

Failure to sign the return

Signing is a vital requirement to be undertaken by an assessee. Generally, assessees are in a hurry to file income tax return and they forget to sign & submit the ITR in case of manual filing and ITR V in case of online filing of income tax return without DSC.

This may lead to rejection of the ITR filed.

Choosing wrong status

Filing income tax return under wrong status can create a big impact on the type of deductions you would receive on tax return. Choosing the correct status is crucial in order to claim standard deductions.

Giving wrong bank details

Providing wrong or inaccurate bank details i.e. wrong account no, MICR code or other relevant details will enable you to claim refund. The IT department will not be liable for any mistakes made in providing details in respect of bank account or MICR code.

Not filing in time

Another stupid mistake made by most of the assessee is delay in filing of income tax return. The due date passes by and thus leads to interest and penalty on assesses. Assessee should be vigilant at the time of filing return on time

Not Sending the ITR V.

The convenience of online filing the doesn’t mean that all steps are done online. Once the form is submitted, the ITR V generated should be physically signed and send by post to the address provided, failing which is liable to be penalized.

Correcting a wrong filing

If an individual has already filed the income tax return and subsequently discover any omission or wrong statement therein, he can re-file the return with necessary modification. This re-filing of the income tax return is referred to as Revised Return. The process for revising the return is very simple. Please remember that the process outlined below is applicable if you had filed the original return online.

Rules related to Revised Return

Revised return can be filed for any previous year at any time before the expiry of 1 year from the end of the relevant assessment year or before completion of the assessment whichever is earlier. For this financial year (2011-12), you can file the revised return till March 31st, 2013

However, if the income tax department completes the assessment of your return earlier, then a revised return cannot be filed.

Revised return can be filed only if the original return was filed before due date. Thus if a return is filed after a due date then it cannot be revised

A loss return filed within time can also be revised and in such case loss as per the revised is carried forward

One should have acknowledgement number and date of filing the original return in order to file a revised return

Return filed in response to the notice u/s 148 can also be revised. It should be noted that notice u/s 148 is issued in respect of the escaped income in the respective assessment year

In case of concealment of income and furnishing of inaccurate information in income tax return an individual will be penalized