Have you missed out on the June 30 deadline for filing your income-tax returns, even though your tax is regularly being deducted at source? If yes, you might be curious to know what's in store for you since the rules have changed this year. The impact of the new set of income-tax rules, one is told, is going to be stronger than before even on the salaried class.

For a salaried person, the questions that immediately come to mind are: Will I have to pay a fine? If yes, how much? Who's going to collect the fine from me: the income-tax authorities or my employer?

These are questions that are more easily asked than answered. Even professionals dealing with tax sometimes go into minute technical details, leaving the obvious questions unanswered.

I-T consultant Vivek Sehgal attempts to simplify the issue and says that the amended rules have actually made it mandatory for people to file income-tax returns. Earlier, one was told that filing returns was compulsory, but no action was ever taken for non-compliance, adds Sehgal.

But don't believe that it's the end of the world even though you've missed out on the June 30 deadline, explains Sehgal. For you still have time. Within one year of this deadline, you can still file returns. But you will have to pay interest at the rate of 2 per cent per month from the date immediately following the due date on the tax pending, in case you have not paid the necessary advance tax. But if all your advance tax is paid up, you don't have to pay any interest at all.

If you're still wondering whether your employer's going to impose a penalty and the interest applicable for not filing the return on time, there's a little bit of doubt to be cleared here. It's the responsibility of the assessee and not the employer to file returns, says Sehgal. So when it comes to a penalty or interest to be levied on the pending tax, the income-tax authorities will approach you directly, asking you to do the needful.

Remember that the tax sleuths already have the entire list of tax-paying employees. Basically, they just have to cross-check with the employee's record to find out whether all the tax returns have been filed.

The only grey area in the business of filing returns is the allotment of the Permanent Account Number (PAN), which is going really slow and arbitrarily. For instance, consider these two facts: Applying for PAN is mandatory at the time of filing income-tax returns from this year, but the PAN allotment is going haywire. One of the conclusions that you can draw by linking the two facts is that imposing a penalty on a defaulter may not be as easy as it sounds.

Also, many chartered accountants secretly admit that those who've been paying their taxes under the TDS scheme, particularly the salaried section, don't have much to fear even if they have not filed their returns. Although those not filing returns can be penalised, it's seldom done, they maintain.

Well, penalty or no penalty, filing returns has its value. For one, if you've paid an additional tax and also filed the return, it's the turn of the income-tax authorities to pay you an interest of 2 per cent per month for any delay in returning you that amount. Plus, you get a clean chit, which may enhance your case while applying for a work permit abroad or a simple thing like a credit card. Probably that's reason enough to take the trouble of filing returns and staying clean.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.