Many income-tax (I-T) payers, especially businessmen or people with many sources of income, may file returns that need to be revised.

This could happen when income from some sources were not determinable or because of some mistake during the time of assessment. In such circumstances, the I-T department allows for revision of returns.

While doing so, some clauses need to be adhered to. For one, you can only revise the return if the original one was filed on time, that is by July 31.

Belated returns cannot be revised. Revision becomes extremely important for people who are filing for losses. If the returns are not filed on time, losses cannot be carried forward.

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Also, revision is allowed only if the omission was unintentional. The benefit of Section 139 (5) cannot be claimed by a person who has filed fraudulent returns. Section 139 (5) will apply only to cases of 'omission or wrong statements' and not to cases of 'concealment or false statements'.

And, once you revise returns, the original stands withdrawn. If the omission(s) in the original return is intentional, the assessee will be penalised, warns Nagaraju PS, director of etaxmentor.com.

There is also a time line. You can revise I-T returns before the expiry of a year from the end of the assessment year or before the completion of assessment of returns, whichever is earlier.

So, the returns of assessment year 2010-11 can be revised till March 31, 2012, or before the completion of the assessment.

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A notice under Section 148 is issued for not paying the entire tax liability. "You need to file tax returns pursuant to this notice and this return can be revised," says Kaushik Mukherjee, ED (tax & regulatory practices), PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Reason: Section 148 says for such returns, all the provisions of Section 139 would apply.

Here, you need to pay the additional tax due, with an interest of one per cent a month on the delayed tax amount, reminds Vishwanathan K, executive director, RSM Astute Consulting Group.

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There is a penalty for non-payment as well. Section 271(1)(c) levies a penalty for concealing income and furnishing inaccurate details at the time of filing returns. The penalty can be 100 to 300 per cent of the tax due, says Mukherjee.

Some say if the returns are revised before the notice under Section 148 is issued, then there is no penalty.

Experts say if income was hidden in the original return and is revised and disclosed after the assessing officer pursued it, then a penalty is levied.

If the revised return shows a higher income than originally declared, a penalty may or may not be levied.

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This apart, revised return has a higher chance of landing a scrutiny letter from the I-T department.

To file revised returns, one can use both the online and physical methods. However, you can revise returns online only if you have filed the original returns online and have the 15-digit acknowledgement number.

You cannot, otherwise, file returns online. The I-T department searches for the original details once the returns are revised.

On not finding the original return, an error is shown. Therefore, it may be wise to revise in physical form.