It becomes essential for paid workers who changed employment within the fiscal year (April 1, 2023–March 31, 2024) to provide Form 12B to their new employer.
On the calendar of every taxpayer, March 31 is a significant occasion as the fiscal year 2023–24 comes to an end. This deadline represents a rush of important work that needs to be finished before the clock strikes midnight, therefore it's more significant than just the conclusion of a fiscal quarter.
Making investment and tax planning selections is one of these crucial tasks. The deadline for investments to qualify for deductions under Section 80C of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 is March 31 for Indian taxpayers operating under the previous tax system. People rush to optimize their tax benefits before the deadline by making investments in tax-saving fixed deposits and Public Provident Fund (PPF) payments.
Furthermore, March 31 is important for people who might not have remembered to pay their advance taxes by the deadline of March 15. As long as the taxpayer has paid more than 90% of the assessed tax, any tax paid on or before March 31 is considered advance tax and exempts them from the penalty under Section 234B of the Income-Tax Act.
If a taxpayer unintentionally fails to pay the tax in the installment that is due on March 15th, since interest under section 234B of the act will not be applied if the taxpayer has paid more than 90% of the assessed tax, any tax paid on or before March 31st is considered an advance tax. According to the act, if the taxpayer's expected tax due for the financial year is Rs 10,000 or more, they must pay advance tax, according to Yeeshu Sehgal, Head of Tax Market at AKM Global, a tax and consultancy firm.
Additionally, taxpayers have one more chance to file their amended Income-Tax Return (ITR-U) for the Assessment Year 2021–22 (financial year 2020–21) on March 31. This deadline extension enables those who neglected to file their taxes on time to make up for the missing information.
"An individual who was required by tax regulations to file an ITR but failed to do so by the deadline may also file an ITR-U." A tax payment is required at the time of submitting ITR-U, and filing it will prevent you from receiving your tax refund. The additional tax will be 50% of the total amount of taxes and interest that an individual owes at the time the revised return is filed. But in the event that the revised return (ITR-U).
However, the additional tax payable will be 25% of the total amount of tax and interest payable if the updated return (ITR-U) is provided after the deadline for filing a belated or revised return has passed but before the end of the relevant assessment year, according to Sehgal.
Taxpayers are compelled to take action as the clock is ticking down to March 31 in order to ensure compliance with tax laws and financial-planning techniques before the fiscal year ends.
