ITR

Is the late filing fee a penalty notice

Updated . Every paid answer is checked by a CA. Free AI answers are labelled until a CA verifies them.

Find

The Sec 234F amount is a fixed fee for filing after the due date, not a penalty under Sec 270A. It is ₹1,000 if total income is up to ₹5 lakh and ₹5,000 otherwise, and it is computed automatically.

Provisions

Sec 234F (now Sec 428); Sec 139(4) (now Sec 263(4))

Analysis

There is no show cause or hearing for this fee. It can be contested only if it was wrongly applied, for example the return was actually filed on time or total income was below ₹5 lakh and ₹5,000 was charged; then file a rectification. If your income was below the basic exemption limit, the fee should not apply at all. Check your filing date in the acknowledgement.

Close

  1. Check the filing date on your ITR acknowledgement
  2. Check total income against ₹5 lakh
  3. If charged wrongly, file a rectification request
  4. If correct, pay it to clear the demand

Connect now

A Savvy replies in minutes.

Fixed price before you pay. Your Savvy is paid only after you accept the work.

General guidance from TaxSavvy’s library of money processes. Laws change; your Savvy confirms the answer on your exact case before anything is filed.