How To Revise Your ITR?

Introduction

You can make mistakes. As humans, we all tend to make errors or forget details even when we intend to be truly attentive, careful, and meticulous. That may happen while filing your Income Tax Return or ITR too. Like most mistakes, you can rectify them too. In case of an error, you can revise your ITR and file it again.

Understanding the Concept of Revised Income Tax Return

Many errors can happen while filing an ITR. You may claim a wrong deduction or state an incorrect bank account or forget to claim a particular deduction or miss out on stating a specific source of income.  Whatever be the error, you can fix it as per the current Income Tax laws. Taxpayers have been given the provision under Section 139(5) to rectify mistakes committed by filing a revised ITR. As per this section,

• If you discover an error or wrong statement in your ITR, you can refile your ITR with the correct information before the relevant assessment year ends.
• You will need to mention the details of the original ITR while filing the revised ITR.
• You can file a revised ITR as many times as required. There is no prescribed limit for it.
• You can revise your ITR irrespective of when you have filed it – before the deadline’s expiry or after the deadline’s expiry.
• You cannot file a revised ITR if the assessing officer completes the scrutiny assessment of your ITR under section 143(3) of the IT Act.

Also Read: Income Tax Definition & Overview

How to file a revised ITR?

The process of filing a revised ITR is similar to the original ITR filing process. It includes filing the return and verifying it. The steps to file a revised return are listed below,

1. Login to the IT portal, i.e. www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.
2. Click on ‘e-File’ and then on ‘Income Tax Return’
3. On the landing page, your PAN will be mentioned. Next, click on ‘Assessment Year’ and on your ITR form number. Your ‘Filing Type’ will be mentioned here as ‘Original/Revised Return’.
4. Click on ‘Submission Mode’ and select ‘Prepare and Submit Online’ from its dropdown menu.
5. Under the ‘General Information’ option, click on ‘Return Filing Section’. Here select ‘Revised Return under Section 139(5)’ from the dropdown options.
6. In the ‘Return Filing Type’ field, select ‘Revised’.
7. Submit the mandatory details such as the 15 digits ‘Acknowledgement Receipt Number’ and the original ITR’s ‘Date of Filing’. Once you have plugged in the relevant information, you can submit the Revised Return form.
8. Once your revised ITR is filed, you must get it verified within 120 days for your filing to be valid as per the tax laws.

Conclusion:

It’s alright to make mistakes as long as we rectify them and not repeat them. To avert a crisis, always keep your acknowledgement receipt of your original ITR handy for future reference. And in case you ever require an ITR revision, ensure maintaining sufficient documentation for supporting your revision, as it may be needed for audit purposes by tax authorities later.