10 financial tasks to complete before the March 31 deadline
Highlight
- Taxpayers need to file their income tax return before the March 31 deadline
- It is equally important to e-verify the ITR once you have filed it.
- The deadline to link your PAN with Aadhaar also ends on March 31
The current financial year 2021-22 is nearing its end and March 31 comes as a reminder for the taxpayers to fulfill several responsibilities. Not only the taxpayers, all the business owners should also be prepared for the requirement to be followed in the next financial year i.e. 2022-23. From filing delayed income tax returns to linking your PAN and Aadhar card, the last date to do it all to avoid penalties and any other fines is March 31.
Here is a quick reminder of what needs to be completed before the end of the current financial year
1. Income Tax Return (ITR): If you are a salaried taxpayer and still have not filed your income tax return for the financial year 2020-21, you may face a penalty, which is Rs 5,000 under section 234F of the Income Tax Act. However, if your total income is less than Rs 5 lakh, you will have to pay Rs 1,000. This rule applies to all taxpayers and the penalty must be paid even if you are filing for a non-taxable amount. In addition, the Income Tax Department can also impose a fine of 50 percent of the tax payable from you and you could face a jail term of up to three years in extreme cases. Since the government has amended the law related to TDS deduction, failing to file ITR before the deadline will still force you to pay TDS, TCS beyond April 1, 2022, if the total TDS, TCS 50,000 or more in FY20. -21.
2. E-Verify ITR: Merely filing ITR is not enough, you need to e-verify it before the deadline (March 31st) ends. The Income Tax Department will consider the Income Tax Return valid only after it is verified. It is to be noted that the Central Board of Direct Taxes or CBDT has given a one-time relaxation for taxpayers to e-verify ITR, which cannot be done after the deadline.
Here’s how you can e-verify ITR
- meeting incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal
- Click on ‘e-Verify Return’ on the homepage
- Enter the required details, i.e. PAN, assessment year, acknowledgment number and your mobile number
- You can e-verify ITR through Aadhaar OTP, Net-Banking, Bank Account, Demat Account, Bank ATM, or Digital Signature Certificate (DSC).
3. Aadhaar-PAN Link: If you do not link your Aadhaar card with your PAN card, you will be penalized (up to Rs 10,000) and your PAN card may also become inoperative. Once your PAN card becomes non-functional, you may not be able to invest in mutual funds, stocks or open a bank account. If not linked in time, your demat and trading accounts may also get closed. If you link your Aadhaar and PAN card after the expiry of the time limit, you will have to pay a fine of up to Rs 1,000.
4. KYC Update of Bank Account: The deadline for bank account KYC update was extended till March 31, 2022 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). For KYC update, bank account holders will have to submit their latest information – including their Aadhaar, PAN, address proof, passport and such other information provided by the bank. In case of failure to update the KYC, bank account holders may face the risk of freezing their accounts.
5. Linking of Small Savings Schemes to Bank Account/Post Office Savings: Account holders need to link their Small Savings Schemes accounts with the post office account to continue getting interest credit on time. This must be done before the March 31 deadline. In a circular, the Department of Posts recently said that interest on MIS/SCSS/TD accounts will be credited only in the PO savings account or bank account of the account holder from April 2022.
6. Tax Planning: If you are an investor, it is always good not to delay your tax planning till the last minute. March 31 is the last date to review your tax planning. If you don’t make tax-saving investments and expenses by the end of the deadline, your tax burden for FY 2021-22 will be higher. Investors should ensure that they have deposited the required amount in tax-advantaged accounts like Public Provident Fund (PPF). Accounts will become inactive if the minimum amount is not deposited.
7. Advance Tax Payment: Taxpayers who need to pay advance tax should do so by March 31. It is to be noted that any taxpayer who needs to pay Rs 10,000 or more for the year is required to pay advance tax.
8. Maintaining Your PPF Account: Keep your PPF account safe and keep it active by depositing Rs 500 annually. If not deposited before 31st March, your PPF account may become inactive. Also, you have to make some payment to activate it again and then continue with the annual deposit amount of Rs.500.
9. Update KYC in PM Kisan: To get the next installment before March 31, 2022, eligible farmers will have to update their KYC using online or offline methods. eKYC is mandatory for PMKISAN registered farmers. Kindly click on eKYC option in Kisan Corner for Aadhaar based OTP authentication and contact nearest CSC Centers for Biometric Authentication, mentioned in PM Kisan website.
10. Avail PMAY Housing Subsidy: If you want to benefit from the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and get the subsidy, then you should look into the third and final phase of the PMAY program, which will meet its deadline on March 31, 2022. The Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) was established in June 2015 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA) as part of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY- Urban) – Housing for All projects.