Income Tax

ITR 7 – Eligibility, Due Date, How to File and Download ITR-7 Form?

The ITR-7 form is one of the forms specified by the Income Tax Department if your source of income falls within a certain category, such as Income of religious and charitable trusts as specified per Section 139 (4A), Income of Political Parties as per Section 139 (4B), Earning of Scientific research institutions as per Section 139 (4C), income of education institutions such as university, college, or other institutions as per Section 139 (4D). If your income falls in any of the aforementioned categories, then you are bound to file an income tax return using the ITR-7 form.

When is the ITR-7 Form needed?

ITR-7 form is needed for entities filing Income Tax returns where part of the income is generated from certain sources such as income generated from property registered or certified under Trust, charitable institutes, and religious institutes. Apart from entities like trusts or companies, Association of Persons (AoP) and Artificial Judiciary Persons are also obliged to fill out the ITR-7 form.

Eligibility

Individuals or firms who are eligible to file a form of ITR-7 for Income Tax Return are those who fall within one of the following categories:-

• Income is generated through properties for charity or religious purposes or registered in the name of a Trust.
• income generated through means of a political party
• Income generated through government or non-government institutions such as scientific research institutes or agencies serving a similar purpose
• Income is generated through government or non-government educational institutions such as colleges, universities, or education entities serving similar.
• Income is generated through medical entities such as Hospitals, clinics, etc.
• Income is generated through khadi or village industries. For more, see here.

When to file the ITR-7 Form?

The ITR-7 is generally required to be filed from July to September of a respective assessment year. This date varies from individual to individual as per the type of account one holds. Taxpayers whose account does not require auditing are allowed to file ITR-7 on or before 31^st July of every assessment year. If the account of the taxpayer requires auditing, then in such cases, the due date to file ITR-7 is 31^st October of every assessment year.

How do I file the ITR-7 Form?

If you want to file the ITR-7 form, you may follow the steps mentioned below:-

• Furnish the ITR electronically, which can be done using the Digital Signature Certificate(DSC).
• Transmission of the data in the Income Tax Return. Then, the ITR-V form shall be submitted as a verification procedure.

After filing the Income Tax Return, there should be two printed copies of the ITR-V form, which is required to be signed by the assessee. One copy shall be retained by the assessee for his own record, and therefore, one copy of the ITR-V¹ form has to be sent by post to the following address:

Bag No.1, Electronic City Office, Bengaluru – 560100 (Karnataka)

ITR Verification

For verification of ITR-7, it is important that all the details have been filled in correctly (ignore the ‘not applicable’ info) and that the assessee has signed the verification along with the designation being mentioned. Rest, you may follow the following steps for further verification:-

• Specifically, the “political party” is required to verify the return filed following a specific guideline
• The return should be verified either by the CEO or secretary using the digital signature certification (DSC)
• Return can also be verified using Electronic Verification Code (EVC)
• The ITR-V acknowledgement has been duly signed and then has been directly sent to the CPC Office (via post)

Points to remember

• Cross-verify that all the details filled in (such as TDS and TCS are matched with Tax Credit Statement Form 26AS) as in case of missed or incorrect details, the filing will be considered defective, which is equivalent to non-filing.
• Make sure that the calculated income of tax amount has been rounded off to the nearest multiple of 10 (INR), and the rest of the figures shall be rounded off to the nearest multiple of 1(INR)
• Mark the negative figures with a negative sign (-) in case no instruction is provided
• Zero amount figure shall be marked as Nil under the respective column rather than ‘0’ or ‘zero’.

• If a certain term does not apply to the taxpayer, “NA” shall be used in the respective column.
• Do not make any extra attachments with the form (documents such as TDS certificates, extra paperwork, etc.)
• Do not miss upon filing the ITR-7 within the due date specified, which is before 31^st July (non-auditing account), to avoid a penalty being imposed under section 234F of the Income Tax Act. The penalty of INR 5,000 will be levied on the assessee for the delay in filing the ITR-7 within the due date [only if the ITR-7 has been filed before 31^st December of the same year]
• If the income Tax Return has been filed online using ITR-7, then there is no requirement to send ITR-7 to the CPC Office. It is sent only when the filing has been done offline.

Conclusion

If you are a taxpayer falling in the eligibility criteria of form ITR-7, make sure you do not delay filing ITR-7. Otherwise, consequences of penalty can be faced, making you pay a fine of up to INR 5,000. It is important that even in case of delay, the ITR-7 is filed before 31^st December to avoid facing a penalty other than up to INR 5,000. The taxpayers must choose the right form for themselves to avoid the rejection of the filed ITR. Therefore, before filing the ITR-7, make sure you fall within the eligibility criteria of the ITR-7 form, which can be seen here.

FAQs

1. https://incometaxindia.gov.in/Pages/downloads/income-tax-return.aspx?c=5