Big Alert! Do These 5 Tasks Before March 31, Else Pay Heavy Fines

The current financial year 2021-22 is approaching the end and 31^st March comes in as a reminder for taxpayers, to fulfill a number of responsibilities. March 31 is the deadline for everything from filing a late income tax return to linking your PAN and Aadhaar card to avoid penalties and fines.

Income Tax Return: If you haven’t filed Income Tax Return for the financial year 2020-21, you will very certainly be subjected to a penalty of Rs 5,000 under Section 234F of the Income Tax Act. If your entire income is less than Rs 5 lakh, then you must pay Rs 1,000.  In addition, the income tax department can also charge you a penalty of 50 per cent of tax payable and you could, in extreme cases, face a jail term of three years. 

E-verify ITR: Only filing ITR is not enough, you need to e-verify the same before the deadline (March 31) ends.

Here's how you can e-verify ITR 

• Visit incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal

• On the homepage, click on 'e-Verify Return'

• Enter the required details, i.e., PAN, assessment year, acknowledgment number and your mobile number

• You can e-verify ITR via Aadhar OTP, net-banking, bank account, De-mat account, bank ATM, or Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)

Aadhaar Pan Linking: If you do not get your aadhaar card linked with your PAN card, you will be penalized (up to Rs 10,000) and your PAN card may also be deactivated. If this happens, you may not be able to invest in mutual funds, stocks, or open a bank account. You may be liable to pay a fine of up to Rs 1,000 in case you link your Aadhaar and PAN card after the deadline ends 

KYC update of bank account: The deadline for bank account KYC update was extended to March 31, 2022, by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). For KYC update, bank account holders need to submit their most recent information -- including their Aadhaar, PAN, address proof, passport and other such information provided by the bank. In case of failure to update KYC, bank account holders are likely to risk their accounts being frozen. 

Link small savings scheme with bank account or post office savings: The Postal Department issued a circular saying that the interest of on MIS/SCSS/TD accounts will be credited only to the account holder’s PO Savings Account / Bank Account from April 1, 2022. Hence, link your small saving scheme accounts with your post office account & bank account by March 31, 2022, to continue receiving interest credit on time.