Return of Income

Obligation to file Return of Income

Sr. No.	Assessee	Conditions
1.	Firm (including LLP)	Every Firm irrespective ofearning income or incurring loss
2.	Company	Every Company irrespective of earning income or incurring loss
3.	Person other than Company or Firm	If his or its total income during the previous year exceeds maximum amount not chargeable to tax (see note below for Maximum Amount not chargeable to tax for A.Y. 2016-17), without considering deduction u/ss. 10(38) [from AY 2017-18] 10A, 10B, 10BA, and Chapter IV-A
4.	Charitable or religious trust	If the total income in the previous year exceeds the maximum amount not chargeable to tax without giving effect to section 11 and section 12
5.	Research Association u/s. 10(21) News Agency u/s. 10(22B) Association / Institution referred u/ss. 10(23A) and 10(23B) Universities/Hospitals/Medical institutions referred under various sub-clauses of Section 10(23C) i.e. (iiiad) or (iiiae) or (iv) or (v) or (vi) or (via) Mutual Fund referred u/s. 10(23D)* Securitisation Trust referred u/s. 10(23DA)* Venture Capital Company or Venture Capital Fund u/s. 10(23FB)* Trade Union referred u/ss. 10(24)(a) and 10(24)(b) Board/Trust/Commission referred u/s. 10(46) Infrastructure Debt Fund referred u/s. 10(47)	If the income exceeds maximum amount not chargeable to tax without considering exemptions under respective provisions of section 10
6.	University, college or any other institution referred u/s. 35(1))(ii)/(iii)	Required to furnish return of income/loss even if not required to furnish return of income under any other provisions
7.	Business Trust	Required to furnish return of income/loss even if not required to furnish return of income under any other provisions
8.	Political Party	Total income in the previous years without giving effect to section 13A exceeds the maximum amount not chargeable to income tax
9.	Every person	To whom notice u/s. 142(1) or 148 is issued
10.	Any resident person other than not ordinary resident	Who has any asset (including financial interest in any entity) located outside India or signing authority in any account located outside India

* w.e.f. A.Y. 2015-16; # w.e.f. A.Y. 2016-17

Maximum amount not chargeable to tax for A.Y. 2016-17

Nature of assessee	Amount (₹)
Individual being resident in India and less than 60 years, NRI, HUF, AOP, BOI, Artificial Juridical Person	2,50,000
Individual being Senior Citizen resident in India (Completed 60 years or more but less than 80 years any time during the previous year i.e. born after 1-4-1936 and before 31-3-1956)	3,00,000
Very Senior Citizen (Completed 80 years or more any time during the previous year i.e. born before 1-4-1936)	5,00,000

No Obligation to File Return of Income

No obligation is incurred on the assessee referred in sections 115A(1), 115AC(1), 115BBA or 115D to file Return u/s. 139(1), if he derives no other income other than those specified in the above Sections. Further, tax deductible at source should be deducted thereon from such income.
The Central Government has by notification exempted individuals having income up to ₹ 5,00,000 from filing of return of income subject to fulfilment of conditions for AY 2012-13

Due Dates for filing Return of Income for A.Y. 2015-16

Sr. No.

Nature of Assessee

Due Date

Every assessee who is required to furnish Transfer Pricing Audit Report u/s. 92E in respect of international and specified domestic transactions

30th November

Company other than those company who is required to furnish Transfer Pricing Audit Report u/s. 92E
Every assessee who is required to get accounts audited under Income-tax Act / any other laws (other than those assessee who is required to furnish Transfer Pricing Audit Report u/s. 92E)
An working partner of the Firm (including working partner of LLP), where accounts of such firm are subjected to audit under any law

However, date of furnishing Tax Audit report u/s. 44AB and return of Income has been extended up to 30-11-2014 for A.Y. 2014-15 and 31st October 2015 for A.Y. 2015-16

30th September

Other assessee not referred above Due date was extended upto 31 August 2015 for AY 2015-16

31st July

Where the last day for filing return of income/loss is a day on which the office is closed, the assessee can file the return on the next day afterwards on which the office is open and, in such cases, the return will be considered to have been filed within the specified time limit — Circular No. 639, dated 13-11-1992

Return of Income to be verified by

Sr. No.	Nature of Assessee	Return of Income to be signed^/verified by
1	Individual	Individual himself In case individual is not within India – by himself or by any other person authorised through power of attorney In case individual is mentally incapacitated from attending of his affairs – by his guardian or any person competent to act on his behalf For any other reason individual is unable to sign/verify return — by any person authorised through power of attorney
2	HUF	Karta In case Karta is not within India or is mentally incapacitated from attending the affairs – by any other adult member of such family
3	Indian resident Company	Managing director In case managing director is not able to sign /verify for any unavoidable reasons or where there is no managing director – by any other director In case company is being wound up – by Liquidator In case management has been taken over by the Central or State Government – by Principal Officer of the company
4	Non-resident Company	By any person holding valid power of attorney from a company to sign/verify
5	Firm	Managing partner In case managing partner is not able to sign/verify for any unavoidable reasons or where there is no managing partner – by any other partner, not being a minor
6	LLP	Designated Partner In case designated partner is not able to sign/verify for any unavoidable reasons or where there is no designated partner – by any other partner
7	Local Authority	Principal Officer
8	Political Party	Chief Executive Officer
9	Any other Association	Any member of Association or the Principal Officer
10	Any other person	By that person or some person competent to act on his behalf

^ The condition of signing the return of income has been omitted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2014 and hence w.e.f. 1-10-2014, return of income only needs to be verified in prescribed manner.

Forms for Return of Income for A.Y. 2016-17

Sr. No.	ITR Forms	Type of Assessee
1	SAHAJ-ITR 1	For Individual total income consisting of Salaries Pension House property (one house property and not brought forward loss from previous year) Income from other sources except winning from lottery/horse races (No loss under IFOS) Not having assets (including financial interest in any entity) located outside India or signing authority in any account located outside India Has not claimed any relief u/s. 90 and/ or u/s. 91 Not having agriculture income in excess of ₹ 5,000 Not having income from any source outside India 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.
2	ITR 2	For Individuals and HUFs not having Income from Business or Profession
3	ITR2A	For Individuals and HUFs not having Income from business or profession and Capital Gains and who do not hold foreign asset
4	ITR 3	For Individuals/HUFs being partners in firms and not carrying out business or profession under any proprietorship
5	SUGAM ITR 4S	For individuals / HUF/Partnership Firm having income from specified business referred u/ss. 44AD/44AE (presumptive income) Income from salary /pension Income from One House property ( excluding losses b/f from previous year) Income from other sources (excluding winning from lottery and income from Race Horses) Not having assets (including financial interest in any entity) located outside India or signing authority in any account located outside India Has not claimed any relief u/s 90 or 90A or has not claimed deduction u/s. 91 Not having agriculture income in excess of ₹ 5000 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
6	ITR 4	For individuals and HUFs having income from a proprietary business or profession (other than those specified in 4S) Specific rows has been added with respect to deduction which are effective from A.Y. 2016-17 e.g. deduction u/s. 32AD for making investment in Plant and Machinery in notified backward area in certain states Schedule ICDS has been added for incorporating any adjustments arising on account of Income Computation and Disclosure Standard applicable from F.Y. 2015-16 Additional reporting in schedule IF for partnership firms – whether firm has entered into any international transaction or specified domestic transaction during the year and whether firm has reported in prescribed format.
7	ITR 5	For firms, AOPs, BOIs and other persons not being HUF, company or persons filing ITR 7 Schedule ICDS has been added for incorporating any adjustments arising on account of Income Computation and Disclosure Standard applicable from F.Y. 2015-16 Specific rows has been added with respect to Deduction which are effective from 1-4-2016 e.g. Under section 36(1)(xvii) for the amount of expenditure incurred by a co-operative society engaged in the business of manufacture of sugar for purchase of sugarcane at a price which is equal to or less than the price fixed or approved by the Government Deduction u/s. 32AD for making investment in Plant and Machinery in notified backward area in certain states Section 44DB Special provision for computing deductions in the case of business reorganisation of co-operative banks has been inserted Schedule containing Details of Income from outside India and tax relief has been inserted
8	ITR 6	For Companies other than companies claiming exemption u/s. 11 The company has to mention the Act, section and date of furnishing the audit report under any Act other than the Income-tax Act Schedule stating 10 Income Computation Disclosure Standards on Profit have been inserted from F.Y. 2015-16 and onwards
9	ITR 7	For persons including companies required to furnish return under section 139(4A) or section 139(4B) or section 139(4C) or section 139(4D) or section 139(4E) or section 139(4F). Where, in any of the projects/institutions run by assessee, one of the charitable purposes is advancement of any other object of general public utility then if the activity is in the nature of trade, commerce or business referred to in proviso to section 2(15) then percentage of receipt from such activity vis-à-vis total receipts has to be disclosed same applies to any activity of rendering any service in relation to trade commerce or business In addition to 10(23C)(iiiad) and (iiiae) assessee claiming exemption u/ss. 10(23C)(iiiab) and (iiiac) are also needed to disclose their aggregate annual receipts
10	ITR V	Acknowledgement for return of income filed electronically without digital signature or in physical form

* W.e.f. A.Y. 2016-17, Individual and HUFs filing their return of income in ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-2A, and ITR 4S having income exceeding
₹ 50 Lakh will now required to furnish information regarding assets and liabilities in Schedule AL of the relevant ITR Form. It's not clear whether only Indian assets have to be reported or global assets. It is to be noted that taxpayer holding foreign assets (legal or beneficial owner) has to report foreign assets in Schedule FA. Hence Schedule LA need to capture details other than reported in Schedule FA

* W.e.f. A.Y. 2016-17 assessee required to give Pass Through Income details from business trust or investment fund as per sections 115UA and 115UB in Schedule PTI in all ITRs except ITR1. Data capture under this schedule may be used to reconcile the income reported by funds i.e. venture capital funds or real estate investment trust.

Return of income is mandatorily required to be filed electronically and verified under digital signature (w.e.f. 1-10-2014 return of income need not be signed)

An individual, Firm, HUF to whom tax audit u/s. 44AB is applicable (ITR 4, ITR 5)
Any company (ITR 6)
Persons including companies required to furnish return under section 139(4B) i.e. Political Parties, (ITR 7) (W.e.f. A.Y. 2014-

Recently higher security option to secure their e-filing account has also been introduced

Mode of Filing of return

Person	Mode of filing
Company Political party Individual /HUF, Firm, LLP or any Person filing ITR 5 whose accounts are required to be audited under sec. 44AB	Electronically under digital signature
Any other Person	Electronically under digital signature or Transmitting the data in the return electronically under electronic verification code; or Transmitting the data in the return electronically and Submitting the verification of the form in ITR V
Can file return in paper form, in case of Individual /HUF whose return is not furnished in ITR 3 or 4 The person being resident not having Assets or Financial interest outside India Signing authority in any account located outside India Income from any source outside India Not claimed any relief in respect of tax paid outside India u/s. 90 or 90A or 91 If taxable income under Income-tax Act, 1961 does not exceeds ₹ 5 lakh or any refund is not claimed in return

Electronic Verification Code (EVC) is a 10 digit alphanumeric code which can be generated through e-filing portal and is valid for 72 hours. Following are the modes to E-verify Return

EVC received in Registered Mobile number and e-mail. This option would be available for taxpayer whose Total income is Less than 5 lakh and there is no Refund)
Aadhaar OTP i.e. Mobile number registered with Aadhaar card is linked and OTP is sent to that Mobile number and e-mail ID
Login to e-Filing through Net Banking facility
Download the ITR-V, sign it manually and send it to CPC through post within the time limit of 120 days from date of upload for your return to be treated as a valid return

As on May 22, 2016 Electronic Verification Code (EVC) can be generated by pre-validating your bank account on the e-Filing website. Punjab National Bank is the first bank to launch this facility which will facilitate its customers, who may not have a net-banking account, to e-verify their return. Other banks are expected to launch this facility.

Peculiarities of new returns

Each year new returns applicable are notified
New Forms are attachment less. Return is not required to be accompanied with any documents viz. computation of income, financial statements, TDS Certificates, tax challans or audit reports (other than TP Report). However subsequently the Assessing Officer may call for such documents.
Sahaj ITR 1 and SUGAM ITR 4S are introduced for faster and error free digitisation. These forms are coloured and contains standard machine readable features like specific marks, bar code, etc. In case pre-printed form is not used, form need to be printed on durable paper with pre-specified coloured ink and other specifications.
Audit Report u/ss. 10(23C)(iv), 10(23C)(v), 10(23C)(vi), 10(23C)(via), 10A, 10AA, 12A(1)(b), 44DA, 50B, 80-IA, 80-IB, 80-IC, 80-ID, 80JJAA, 80LA or 115VW or notice u/s. 11(2)(a) need to be furnished electronically before the due date of filing the Income Tax Return (w.e.f. A.Y. 2014-15)
Audit Report u/s. 44AB, 92E or 115JB need to be furnished electronically before the due date of filing the Income Tax Return (w.e.f. A.Y. 2013-14). (due dates refer above)
In case, return is transmitted electronically without digital signature, signed (sign in blue ink) copy of acknowledgement generated online i.e. Form ITR-V is required to be submitted, within the specified period (currently 4 months), by ordinary/speed post to ITO, Bengaluru, (without any annexure, covering letter, etc.) or such other place as specified on acknowledgement. As per Circular no .13/2016 in case of returns for A.Y. 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 which were uploaded electronically by the taxpayer within the time allowed u/s 139 of the Act and which have remained incomplete due to non-submission of signed ITR V form for verification.can verify their returns through EVC by 31st August, 2016. Alternatively, signed ITR-V can be sent to CPC, Bengaluru.
No disallowances of pre-paid taxes shall be made by AO merely because TDS/TCS certificates or pre-paid challans not submitted along with return of Income. (Circular 3/2008 dt. 21-5-2009).

Return of income claiming certain deductions or certain loss

Return furnished after due date, the deductions / benefits may not be available—
1. Deductions u/ss. 10A, 10B, 80-IA, 80-IAB, 80-IB, 80-IC, 80-ID or 80-IE
2. Allowability of losses incurred under business (other than unabsorbed depreciation), capital gains and/or from owning and maintaining race horses. Carry forward of losses under the head House property and unabsorbed depreciation is not affected even if the return is not filed within due date.
3. Losses of specified business (Sec 35AD) shall be allowed to be carry forward and set off in future years only if the return is filed within the prescribed time limit
Where any loss has been duly carried forward in accordance with the provisions of sec. 139(3) in earlier years, there is no obligation to file the intermediary return in which the benefit of set off is claimed or loss is required to be carried forward, to be filed within the due date.
Section 119(2)(b) empowers the CBDT to authorise any Income Tax Authority to admit an application or claim for any exemption, deduction, refund or any other relief under the Act after the expiry of the period specified under the Act, to avoid genuine hardship in any case or class of cases. The claim for carry forward of loss in case of a loss return is relatable to a claim arising under the category of any other relief available under the Act. Refer Cir. No. 8/2001
dt. 16-5-2001.

Belated Return

Return can be filed belatedly within one year from the end of assessment year or before completion of assessment whichever is earlier for A.Y. 2016-17
Return can be filed belatedly before the end of the relevant assessment year or before completion of assessment, whichever is earlier w.e.f. A.Y. 2017-18
However in case, return is not filed within the end of assessment year penalty u/s. 271F of ₹ 5,000 may be imposed. E.g. return of income for A.Y. 2015-16 if not filed on or before 31-3-2016 penalty u/s. 271F may be levied. However with reduction in period of filing belated return, applicability of penalty u/s. 271F may be infructuous w.e.f. A.Y. 2017-18
In case return, as required by section 139(4A) (Trusts) / 139(4C) (specified Trusts, Institutions, Political Parties, etc.) is not filed on or before due date (31st July in case income before claiming exemption u/s. 11 exceeds maximum amount not chargeable to tax or 30th September where accounts are subject to audit), penalty of ₹ 100/- per day may be imposed u/s. 272A(2)(e).

Revised Return

Up to A.Y. 2016-17

Return can be revised within one year from the end of assessment year or before completion of assessment whichever is earlier
Belated Return cannot be Revised

A.Y. 2017-18 and onwards

Return can be revised within one year from the end of assessment year or before completion of assessment whichever is earlier
Even Belated Return can be Revised

Defective return

S. 139(9) lays that return of income would be defective in case not accompanied by the relevant annexure. W.e.f. 1-6-2013. A return which has been filed without payment of self assessment tax along with interest shall be treated as a valid return.
However annexure less return scenario, return would be treated as defective in case return is not filed completely in the manner specified in the return form.
If the assessee fails to rectify the defects in the return of income within 15 days of intimation of defects by the Assessing Officer or specified period, the return will be treated as invalid return and the provisions of Income-tax Act will apply as if the assessee has failed to furnish the return.