Income Tax Update: Golden opportunity to correct the mistake in your income tax return! In the Finance Act 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the facility of updated returns, allowing taxpayers to correct their mistakes and omissions.
Now March 31, 2025, is the last date for filing updated returns for the financial year 2021-22. This facility gives taxpayers an important opportunity to avoid legal hassles and correct their mistakes so that they can live in peace.
Update by March 31, 2025
Taxpayers wishing to correct income tax returns of previous years can file updated returns before March 31. However, you can file updated returns anytime, but it should be within two years of the end of the respective assessment year.
This means that those who want to update their returns for the assessment year 2022-23 or financial year 2021-22 must file updated returns before March 31, 2025. This deadline is very important for you because after this you will not get a chance.
Why is updated return important
There were two main reasons for introducing updated returns: to avoid litigation and to encourage voluntary taxation. When tax authorities discover tax evasion, the matter goes through a long process of litigation.
To prevent this, the Finance Ministry allowed taxpayers to file updated returns by paying the excess tax they missed paying when it was due. When it was introduced in 2022, the maximum deadline was 2 years. In Budget 2025, this deadline has been extended to 48 months. This is a big relief for taxpayers, allowing them to rectify their mistakes.
Which deadlines expire on March 31
Taxpayers can file updated returns for any previous year such as FY 2021-22 and 2022-23, but for FY 2021-22, March 31, 2025 is the last date. It can be also filed by any taxpayer of India in any case except in certain exceptional circumstances by chance.
A person can also file an updated return even if he has previously filed the return of loss under section 139(3) for the relevant assessment year, but the updated return cannot be a tax return of loss. It is important to ensure that you adhere to the deadlines and rectify your mistakes.