Missed your ITR for AY 21-22 or 22-23? Income Tax Dept. Launches Excel Utilities to file Updated ITR-1 and ITR-2 Returns
Taxpayers can file their revised ITR-U, however with penalties.
The Income TaxDepartment has launched Excel-based utilities for filing Updated Income Tax Returns (ITR-U) for Assessment Years (AY) 2021–22 and 2022–23, using ITR-1 and ITR-2 forms. The move is part of the measures introduced under the Finance Act, 2025 to facilitate voluntary compliance, allowing taxpayers who missed filing their income tax returns during the allotted time...
The Income TaxDepartment has launched Excel-based utilities for filing Updated Income Tax Returns (ITR-U) for Assessment Years (AY) 2021–22 and 2022–23, using ITR-1 and ITR-2 forms.
The move is part of the measures introduced under the Finance Act, 2025 to facilitate voluntary compliance, allowing taxpayers who missed filing their income tax returns during the allotted time or would now like to declare additional income that had been missed earlier.
As per the official e-Filing portal, the Excel Utilities are now available for download and use at https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/downloads/income-tax-returns.
The utilities pertaining to AY 2021–22 and 2022–23 are designed specifically for taxpayers eligible to file ITR-1 or ITR-2.
Know Practical Aspects of Tax Planning, Click Here
Taxpayers are to note that the ‘Updated Return’ under Section 139(8A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 can only be used to report additional income and not for claiming refunds, declaring losses or for reducing tax liabilities.
The Income Tax Department has also released generalinstructions for using these Excel utilities.
For both AY 2021–22 and 2022–23, the taxpayer must first select the relevant year, download the corresponding ZIP file from the official portal, extract it, and then open the utility file.
The utility runs on genuine, licensed Microsoft Excel versions from 2016 onwards with macros enabled. It supports Windows OS with IA32/x36 architecture and requires a minimum of 2GB RAM, Intel Pentium SSE2 or AMD K10 architecture and 700MB free disk space to run.
It has also been clarified that updates to the instructions, schemas and validation rules shall be made as and when required, following approval from the Income Tax Department.
The deadline to file Updated Returns is within 48 months from the end of the relevant assessment year.
Thus, AY 2021–22 returns can be filed until March 31, 2026 and AY 2022–23 until March 31, 2027. However, late filing comes with a cost as the penalty for filing increases with time. A levy of 25% of the tax dues in the first 12 months can go as high as 70% if filed in the last 12 months of the window.
Want a deeper insight into the Income Tax Bill, 2025? Click here
The ITR-U initiative is part of the Income Tax Department’s effort to promote compliance before they initiate enforcement actions against non-compliant taxpayers.
If you or anyone you know have missed or have misreported income in their original ITRs, now is the time to file a revised return to correct past oversights.
Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
