INTEREST
PAYABLE BY THE TAXPAYER UNDER THE INCOME-TAX ACT
Introduction
Under
the Income-tax Act, different types of interests are levied for various kinds
of delays/defaults. In this part, you can gain knowledge about the provisions
of section 234A, 234B and 234C dealing with interest levied for
Ø Delay in
filing the return of income; section 234A
Ø Non-payment
or short payment of advance tax; Section 234B
Manner
of computation of interest under the Income-tax Act
Before
understanding the provisions of section 234A, 234B and 234C it is important to
understand the provisions of Rule 119A which gives the manner of computation of
interest under the Income-tax Act.
As
per Rule 119A, while calculating the interest payable by the taxpayer or the
interest payable by the Central Government to the taxpayer under
any provision of the Act, the following rule shall be followed:
a) Where
interest is to be calculated on annual basis, the period for which such
interest is to be calculated shall be rounded off to a whole month or months.
For this purpose any fraction of a month shall be ignored and the period so
rounded off shall be deemed to be the period in respect of which the interest
is to be calculated;
b) Where
the interest is to be calculated for every month or part of a month comprised
in a period, any fraction of a month shall be deemed to be a full month and the
interest shall be so calculated;
c) The
amount of tax, penalty or other sum in respect of which such interest is to be
calculated shall be rounded off to the nearest multiple of one hundred rupees.
For this purpose, any fraction of one hundred rupees shall be ignored and the
amount so rounded off shall be deemed to be the amount in respect of which the
interest is to be calculated.
E.g.
If we want to compute interest under section 234A on Rs. 8,489 for 3 months and
10 days, then as per Rule 119A discussed above, while computing the amount liable
to interest, any fraction of Rs. 100 is to be ignored and, hence, we will
ignore Rs. 89 and the balance amount will come to Rs. 8,400. Interest
will be computed on Rs. 8,400. Further, the period of 10 days will be
considered as full month and, hence, interest will be computed for 4 months.
Interest
for delay in filing the return of income [Section 234A]
Under
section 234A, interest is levied for delay in filing the return of income.
Basic provisions - Interest under section 234A is levied for delay in filing
the return of income. In other words, if the taxpayer files the return of
income after the due date specified in this regard, interest under section 234A
will be levied.
Illustration
Mr.
Sekar is a Businessman. His tax liability for the financial year 2016-17
amounted to Rs. 8,400. The due date of filing the return of income in his case
is 31st July, 2017. On 5th August, 2017 he paid tax of Rs. 8,400 and filed his
return of income. Will he be liable to pay interest under section 234A?
Interest
under section 234A is levied for delay in filing the return of income. The due
date for filing the return of income in the case of Mr. Sekar is 31st July, 2017
and he has paid the tax and filed the return on 5th August 2017. Hence, he will
be liable to pay interest under section 234A on the outstanding tax liability
(provisions relating to rate of interest, period of levy of interest and amount
liable to interest are discussed later).
Rate
of interest
Interest
under section 234A is levied for delay in filing the return of income. Interest
is levied at 1% per month or part of a month. The nature of interest is simple
interest. In other words, the taxpayer is liable to pay simple interest at 1%
per month or part of a month for delay in filing the return of income.
Period
of levy of interest under section 234A
Interest
under section 234A is levied from the period commencing on the date immediately
following the due date of filing the return of income and ending on the date of
furnishing the return of income, or in case where no return has been furnished,
on the date of completion of the assessment under section 144. It should be
noted that while computing the period of levy of interest, part i.e. fraction
of a month is considered as full month.
Illustration
Mr.
Sunil is an engineer. The due date of filing the return of income in his case
is 31st July, 2017. He filed his return of income on 9th December, 2017. His
tax liability for the financial year 2016-17 is Rs. 8,400 (which is paid on 9th
December, 2017). Will he be liable to pay interest under section 234A, if yes
then what will be the period of levy of interest?
The
due date of filing the return of income is 31st July, 2017, and return of
income is filed on 9th December, 2017 i.e. after the due date
and hence, Mr. Sunil will be liable to pay interest under section
234A.While computing interest, part of the month will be taken as full month.
In this case, there is a delay of 4 months and 9 days. Part of the month i.e. 9
days will be considered as full month and hence, interest will be levied for 5
months.
Amount
liable to interest under section 234A
Interest
under section 234A is levied on the amount of tax as determined under section
143(1) and where regular assessment is made, the tax on total income as
determined under such regular assessment as reduced by advance tax, tax
deducted/collected at source, relief claimed under various sections like
sections 90/90A/91 and tax credit claimed under section 115JAA/115JD.
Illustration
Mr.
Kumar is running a medical store. The due date for filing the return of income
in his case is 31st July. He filed his return of income on 3rd December. Tax
liability of Mr. Kumar for the year is Rs. 28,400 (which is paid on 3rd
December). Advance tax paid by him is Rs. 15,000 and he has TDS credit of Rs.
5,000. Will he be liable to pay interest under section 234A, if yes then how
much?
Mr.
Kumar has filed his return of income after the due date i.e. after 31st July
and hence, he will be liable to pay interest under section 234A. Interest will
be levied at 1% per month or part of the month.
The
due date of filing the return of income is 31st July and the return of income
is filed on 3rd December and hence, there is a delay of 4 months and 3 days.
Part of the month i.e. 3 days will be considered as full month and hence,
interest will be charged for a period of 5 months. Interest
will be levied at 1% per month on Rs. 8,400 (*) for 5 months. Thus, interest
under section 234A will come to Rs. 420.
(*)
Advance tax of Rs. 15,000 and TDS of Rs. 5,000 are to be deducted from the tax
liability of Rs. 28,400; hence, net liability after deducting advance tax and
TDS will come to Rs. 8,400. Thus, interest will be levied on Rs. 8,400.
Interest
for default in payment of advance tax [Section 234B]
Section
234B provides for levy of interest for default in payment of advance tax.
Basic
provisions
Interest
under section 234B is levied in following two cases:
Ø When
the taxpayer has failed to pay advance tax though he is liable to pay
advance tax; or
Ø Where
the advance tax paid by the taxpayer is less than 90% of the assessed tax
(meaning of assessed tax is discussed later). As per Section 208 of the Act,
advance tax shall be payable by the taxpayer during the financial year if
estimated tax liability of assessee during that year is ten thousand rupees or
more.
Illustration
Mr.
Khushal is running a provision shop. Tax liability of Mr. Khushal for the year
is Rs. 38,400. He has not paid any advance tax till 31st March. Entire tax was
paid by him at the time of filing the return of income. Will he be liable to
pay interest under section 234B?
Interest
under section 234B is levied in following two cases:
Ø When
the taxpayer has failed to pay advance tax; or
Ø Where
the advance tax paid by the taxpayer is less than 90% of the assessed tax.
As
per section 208 every person whose estimated tax liability for the year is Rs.
10,000 or more, shall pay his tax in advance in the form of “advance
tax”.
The
tax liability of Mr. Khushal is Rs. 38,400 (i.e., not less than Rs. 10,000),
thus, he is liable to pay advance tax. However, he has not paid any advance tax
and, hence, he will be liable to pay interest under section
234B (provisions relating to period of interest, rate of interest and
amount on which interest is levied are discussed in later part).
Illustration
Mr.
Mangal is running a provision shop. Tax liability of Mr. Mangal for the year is
Rs. 48,400. He has paid advance tax of Rs. 46,000 till 31st March. Balance tax
of Rs. 2,400 is paid by him at the time of filing the return of income. Will he
be liable to pay interest under section 234B?
Interest
under section 234B is levied in following cases:
Ø When
the taxpayer has failed to pay advance tax; or
Ø Where
the advance tax paid by the taxpayer is less than 90% of the assessed tax.
In
this case, Mr. Mangal has paid 95% of the advance tax (*) i.e. more than 90%
and thus, no interest will be levied under section 234B.
(*)
The tax liability of Mr. Mangal is Rs. 48,400 and he has paid advance tax of
Rs. 46,000. The quantum of advance tax paid by him will come to 95% (i.e., Rs.
46,000/Rs. 48,400) of the total tax liability.
Illustration
Mr.
Raja is engaged in furniture business. Tax liability of Mr. Raja for the year
is Rs. 58,400. He has paid advance tax of Rs. 35,000 till 31st March. Balance
tax of Rs. 23,400 is paid by him at the time of filing the return of income.
Will he be liable to pay interest under section 234B?
Interest
under section 234B is levied in following cases:
Ø When
the taxpayer has failed to pay advance tax; or
Ø Where
the advance tax paid by the taxpayer is less than 90% of the assessed
tax.
In
this case, Mr. Raja has paid advance tax of Rs. 35,000. The quantum of advance
tax paid by him is 60% of the total tax liability (*)
i.e. less than 90% and hence, he will be liable to pay interest under section
234B.
(*)
The tax liability of Mr. Raja is Rs. 58,400 and he has paid advance tax of Rs.
35,000. The quantum of advance tax paid by him will come to 60% (i.e., Rs.
35,000/Rs. 58,400) of the total tax liability.
Rate
of interest
Under
section 234B, interest for default in payment of advance tax is levied at 1%
per month or part of a month. The nature of interest is simple interest. In
other words, the taxpayer is liable to pay simple interest at 1% per month or
part of a month for default in payment of advance tax.
Amount
liable for interest
Interest
under section 234B is levied on the amount of unpaid advance tax. If there is a
shortfall in payment of advance tax, then interest is levied on the amount by
which advance tax is short paid. The amount of unpaid/short paid advance tax is
computed as follows:
Particulars
Amount
Assessed
tax (*) XXXXX
Less:
Advance tax paid (if any) (XXXXX)
Amount
of unpaid/short paid advance tax XXXXX
(*)
Assessed tax means the amount of tax as determined under section 143(1) and
where regular assessment is made, the tax on total income as determined under
such regular assessment as reduced by tax deducted/collected at source,
relief/deduction of tax claimed under various sections like sections 90/90A/91
and tax credit claimed under section 115JAA/115JD.
Period
of levy of interest
Interest
under section 234B is levied from the first day of the assessment year, i.e.,
from 1st April till the date of determination of income under section
143(1) or when a regular assessment is made, then till the date of such a regular
assessment.
In a
case where the income is increased on account of assessment/re-computation, interest
under section 234B will be levied on the differential amount from the first day
of the assessment year till the date of assessment/re-computation. In a case
where and application is made to Settlement Commission, interest under section
234B will be levied on the differential amount from the first day of the
assessment year till the date of making the application. Further, if the income
as declared in the application is increased by the Settlement Commission,
interest under section 234B will be levied on the differential amount from the
first day of the assessment year till the date of such order. If as a result of
rectification order of the Settlement Commission, income is increased / decreased,
interest will also be increased / decreased accordingly.
If
the taxpayer has paid any tax before completion of assessment, then interest
will be levied as follows:
Ø Up
to the date of payment of self assessment tax, interest will be computed on the
amount of unpaid advance tax.
Ø From
the date of payment of self assessment tax, interest will be levied on the
unpaid amount of advance tax after deducting the self assessment tax paid by
the taxpayer.
Illustration
Mr.
Suraj is a businessman. His tax liability as determined under section 143(1) is
Rs. 28,400. He has not paid any advance tax but there is a TDS credit of Rs.
10,000 in his account. He has paid the balance tax on 31st July i.e. at the
time of filing the return of income. Will he be liable to pay interest under
section 234B, if yes, then how much?
In
this case, the tax liability (after allowing credit of TDS)
of Mr. Suraj comes to Rs. 18,400 (i.e. Rs. 28,400 – Rs. 10,000) which exceeds
Rs. 10,000 and hence, he will be liable to pay advance tax. He
has not paid any advance tax and hence, he will be liable to pay interest under
section 234B. Interest under section 234B will be levied at 1% per month or
part of the month. In this case, Mr. Suraj has paid the outstanding tax on 31st
July and hence, interest under section 234B will be levied for the period from
1st April to 31st July i.e. for 4 months.
Interest
will be levied on unpaid tax liability of Rs. 18,400. Interest at 1% per month
on Rs. 18,400 for 4 months will come to Rs. 736.
Interest
for default in payment of installment(s) of advance tax [Section 234C] Section
234C provides for levy of interest for default in payment of installment(s) of
advance tax. Before getting into the detailed provisions of section 234C, let's
recall the provisions relating to payment of advance tax by a taxpayer.
As
per section 208, every person whose estimated tax liability for the year
exceeds Rs. 10,000, shall pay his tax in advance in the form of “advance tax”
by following dates:
Due
Dates for payment of Advance Tax
For
both individual and corporate taxpayers
On
or before 15th June 15% of advance tax
On or before 15th September 45% of advance tax
On or before 15th December 75% of advance tax
On or before 15th
March 100% of advance
tax
Taxpayers who opted for presumptive taxation
scheme of section 44AD or section 44ADA.
By 15th March 100% of advance tax
For taxpayers opting for presumptive taxation having business income
from plying, hiring or leasing of goods carriages Section 44AE
On or before 15th June 15% of
advance tax
On or before 15th September 45% of advance tax
On or before 15th December 75% of advance tax
On or before 15th March 100% of advance tax
Basic
provisions
Interest
under section 234C is levied, if advance tax paid in any installment(s) is less
than the required amount. In other words, interest under section 234C in case
of deferment of different installments of advance tax is levied in following
cases:
(A)
In case of taxpayers (other than those who opted for presumptive taxation
scheme under section 44AD or section 44ADA), interest shall be levied-
1) Interest
is levied under section 234C, if the advance tax paid by the taxpayer on or
before June 15th is less than 12% of advance tax payable.
2)
Interest under section 234C is levied if the advance tax paid by the taxpayer
on or before September 15th is less than 36% of advance tax payable.
3)
Interest under section 234C is levied if the advance tax paid by the taxpayer
on or before December 15th is less than 75% of advance tax payable.
4)
Interest under section 234C is levied if the advance tax paid by the taxpayer
on or before March 15th is less than 100% of advance tax payable.
(B)
In case of taxpayers who opted for presumptive taxation scheme of Section 44AD
or section 44ADA interest shall be levied if advance tax paid on or before 15th
March is less than 100% of advance tax payable.
No
levy of interest if shortfall in payment of advance tax is due to capital gains
or winning from lottery, etc.
Interest
under section 234C is not levied, if, the shortfall in payment of advance tax
is due to failure to estimate the amount of capital gains or income referred to
in section 2(24)(ix) (i.e. winning from lotteries, crossword puzzle, etc.) and
the taxpayer pays the required advance tax on such income as a part of
immediate following installments or till 31st March, if no installment is
pending.
Rate
of interest
Interest
under section 234C for default in payment of installment(s) of advance tax is
charged at 1% per month or part of a month. The nature of interest is simple
interest. In other words, the taxpayer is liable to pay simple interest @ 1%
per month or part of a month for short payment/ non-payment of individual installment(s)
of advance tax.
Period
of levy of interest
interest
under section 234C is levied for a period of 3 months, in case of short fall in
payment of 1st, 2nd and 3rd installment and for 1 month, in case of short fall
in payment of last installment.
For
taxpayers who have opted for Presumptive Taxation Scheme – Business Income
1
month, in case of short fall in payment of Advance Tax.
Amount
liable for interest
Interest
under section 234C is levied on the short paid amount of installment(s) of advance
tax.
Illustration
Mr. Khushal is running a
garments shop. Tax Liability of Mr. Khushal is Rs 45,500. He has paid advance
tax as given below:
Ø Rs.
8,000 on 15th June,
Ø Rs.
11,000 on 15th September,
Ø Rs.
12,000 on 15th December,
Ø Rs.
14,500 on 15th March.
Mr.
Khushal has not opted for presumptive taxation scheme of section 44AD. Will he
be liable to pay interest under section 234C, if yes, then how much?
Every person, whose
estimated tax liability for the year exceeds Rs. 10,000, shall pay his tax in
advance in the form of “advance tax” by the following dates:
For
both individual and corporate taxpayers
On
or before 15th June 15% of advance tax
On or before 15th September 45% of advance tax
On or before 15th December 75% of advance tax
On or before 15th
March 100% of advance
tax
Taxpayers who opted for presumptive taxation
scheme of section 44AD or section 44ADA.
By 15th March 100% of advance tax
Any
tax paid till 31st March will be treated as advance tax. Considering the above
dates, the advance tax liability of Mr. Khushal at different installments will
be as follows:
1) In
first installment: Not less than 15% of tax payable should be paid
by 15thJune. The tax liability is Rs.
45,500 and 15% of 45,500 amounts to Rs. 6,825. Hence, he should pay Rs. 6,825
by 15thJune. He has paid Rs. 8,000, hence, there is no short payment
in case of first installment.
2) In
second installment: Not less than 45% of tax payable should be paid
by 15thSeptember. Tax liability is Rs. 45,500 and 45% of 45,500 amounts to
Rs.20,475. Hence, he should pay Rs. 20,475 by 15th September. He has paid
Rs.8,000 on 15th June and Rs. 11,000 on 15th September (i.e. total of Rs.
19,000 is paid till 15thSeptember). There is short payment of
Rs. 1,475 (i.e. Rs. 20,475 – Rs.19,000).
Though
there is short payment of Rs. 1,475 but Mr. Khushal will not be
liable to pay interest under section 234C because he has paid minimum of 36% of
advance tax payable by 15th September. He has paid Rs. 19,000
till 15th September and 36% of 45,500 amounts to Rs. 16,380. Hence, no interest
shall be levied in case of deferment of second installment.
3) In
third installment: Not less than 75% of tax payable should be paid
by 15th December. Tax liability is Rs. 45,500 and 75% of 45,500 amounts to Rs.
34,125. Hence, he should pay Rs. 34,125 by 15th December. He has paid Rs. 8,000
on 15th June, Rs. 11,000 on 15th September and Rs. 12,000 on 15th December
(i.e. total of Rs. 31,000 is paid till
15thDecember). There is a short payment of Rs. 3,125 (i.e. Rs.
34,125 – Rs 31,000). Hence, he will be liable to pay interest under
section 234C on account of short fall of Rs. 3,125 (*).
4) In
last installment: 100% of tax payable should be paid by 15th
March. The total tax liability of Rs. 45,500 is paid by Mr. Khushal by 15th
March (i.e. 8,000 on 15th June, Rs. 11,000 on15th September, Rs. 12,000 on 15th
December and Rs 14,500 on 15th March). Hence, there is no short
payment in case of last installment. Thus, Mr. Khushal will not be liable to
pay interest under section 234C in case of last installment.
(*)There
is a short fall of Rs. 3,125 in case of third installment (computation
already discussed). Due to short fall in case of third installment, interest
under section 234C will be levied. Interest will be levied at 1% per month or
part of the month on the short paid amount of Rs. 3,100 (i.e. Rs. 3,125 rounded
off to Rs. 3,100 as per Rule 119A). Interest will be levied for a period of 3
months. In other words, interest will be levied on Rs.3,100 at 1% per month for
3 months. Interest under section 234C will come to Rs. 93.
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