“Filing a return without paying the admitted amount of tax that is payable will render such taxpayer an assessee in default under the provisions of the Income Tax Act. Such taxpayers who default in payment of self-assessment tax may invite penal consequences,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
The Income Tax Act requires that the tax payable on the returned income, after taking into account prepaid taxes, should be paid before furnishing the return.
An analysis of returns filed electronically in the current financial year (2012-13) reveals that nearly 73,388 taxpayers have defaulted on such payments aggregating to Rs. 3,859 crore, the statement said.