In a polite and non-adversarial warning to defaulters, the Income-Tax Department on Wednesday asked self-assessment taxpayers to clear their dues by March 31, 2013 or face penal action.
In a statement here, the Finance Ministry said that an analysis of income-tax returns filed electronically in the current financial year (2012-13) has revealed that 73,388 taxpayers have defaulted on such payments aggregating to Rs. 3,859 crore.
Holding out a warning to this section of assessees, the statement said: “Filing a return without paying the admitted amount of tax that is payable will render such taxpayer an ‘assessee in default’ under the provisions of the Income-Tax Act. Such taxpayers who default in payment of self-assessment tax may invite penal consequences.”
“Income-tax Department urges all taxpayers who have filed their returns in the current financial year and [those who] have defaulted on payment of self-assessment tax, to immediately come forward and pay the due taxes before March 31, 2013,” it said.
