Complete these financial tasks by March 31 to avoid penalties

The financial year 2021 is coming to an end and it is important for you to complete some financial tasks by March 31 to avoid penalties. If you fail to perform these tasks before due date, you may have to pay hefty fines.
1. In order to keep your PPF account active, you are required to make a minimum investment of Rs 500 in your PPF (Public Provident Fund) account every financial year. If you are not able to invest the minimum amount, your account will become inactive. Also, a penalty of Rs 50 will be levied every year.
2. For NPS subscribers, a minimum contribution of Rs 500 has to be made in the NPS (National Pension System) Tier 1 account while the minimum investment requirement in Tier 2 account is Rs 250. The account becomes inactive in case the minimum contribution is not made in the financial year. To reactivate the account, one is required to pay the minimum contribution of Rs 500. If you miss the deadline, you have to approach the point of presence (POP) and pay the required amount, or make a contribution through eNPS platform to unfreeze the account.
3. In case of post office recurring deposit (RD) accounts, the monthly contribution has to be deposited before the fifteenth day of the month for accounts opened between the first and the fifteenth day of the month. For accounts opened on the sixteenth day and later, the contribution should be deposited by the last day of the month. If the amount is not credited in any month, it becomes default.
4. In case you haven’t filed your income tax return for the FY20, 31 March is the last date for filing it. You will need to pay a penalty of Rs 10,000 for filing belated return. It will be difficult to file an ITR after this date. For non-filing of your ITR, the tax department can levy penalty a minimum penalty equal to 50% of the tax which would have been avoided by you, in addition to the liability to pay the interest till the date you ultimately file your ITR after receiving notices from tax department.
5. 31 March is the last date for making the declaration under government’s Vivad se Vishwas scheme. Under this scheme, the taxpayer with pending tax litigation is granted immunity from levy of interest, penalty and institution of any proceeding for prosecution for any offence under the Income Tax Act in respect of matters covered in the declaration. In case you don’t make use of the opportunity and make declaration by March-end, you may get tax department notice and face penalties.
Report by Chetali S M
Reported on – 23/03/2021