If you have followed all the commandments, here is one last rule you cannot afford to ignore. File the return before the 31 July deadline. Till last year, there was no penalty for filing delayed returns. One could even file returns of the previous two years without a hitch if all his taxes were paid. But the rules have now been changed.

Earlier, belated return could be filed at any time before the expiry of one year from the end of the relevant assessment year. So, the returns for the financial year 2014-15 (assessment year 2015-16) could be filed till 31 March 2017. However, now, belated returns may be filed before the end of the relevant assessment year. This reduces the time window by a year.

A new section 234F inserted in the Income Tax Act has fixed a penalty for delay in filing. It is applicable from the assessment year 2018-19. For now, the penalty is `5,000 if the return is not filed the return before the end of the relevant assessment year