Section 479 — Wilful Failure to Furnish Return | ITA 2025

Section 479 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 corresponds to s. 276 CC of the Income-tax Act, 1961. STATUTORY ARCHITECTURE Imprisonment 6 months to 7 years (where tax evaded > INR 25 lakhs; else 3 months to 2 years). Threshold-based…

Section 479 — - WILFUL FAILURE TO FURNISH RETURN

Section 479 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 corresponds to s. 276CC of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Statutory text — Income-tax Act, 2025

(1) If a person wilfully fails to furnish in due time the return of income, which is required to be furnished under section 263(1), or by notice given under section 268(1) or 280, he shall be punishable,— 25[(a) with simple imprisonment for a term up to two years, or with fine, or with both, where the amount of tax, which would have been evaded if the failure had not been discovered, exceeds fifty lakh rupees; or

(b) with simple imprisonment for a term up to six months, or with fine, or with both, where the amount of tax, which would have been evaded if the failure had not been discovered, exceeds ten lakh rupees but does not exceed fifty lakh rupees; or

(c) with fine, in any other case.]

(2) A person shall not be proceeded against under sub-section (1) for failure to furnish in due time the return of income under section 263(1) for any tax year, if—

(a) a return is furnished by him under section 263(4) or 263(6); or

(b) the tax payable by such person, not being a company, on the total in- come determined on regular assessment, as reduced by the advance tax or self-assessment tax, if any, paid before the expiry of period specified under section 263(4), and any tax deducted or collected at source, does not exceed ` 10000.

25. Clauses (a), (b) and (c) substituted for clauses (a) and (b) by the Finance Act, 2026, w.e.f. 1-4-2026. Prior to their substitution, clauses (a) and (b) read as under : “(a) in a case, where the amount of tax, which would have been evaded if the failure had not been discovered, exceeds twenty-five lakh rupees, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to seven years, and with fine;

(b) in any other case, with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to two years and with fine.” 26[Failure to furnish return of income setting forth undisclosed income.

STATUTORY ARCHITECTURE

Imprisonment 6 months to 7 years (where tax evaded > INR 25 lakhs; else 3 months to 2 years). Threshold-based prosecution. CBDT Circular 24-2019 narrows -- prosecution only if tax evaded > prescribed; else compounding.

PRACTITIONER PLANNING NOTES

Defence: return not filed because no taxable income / income below threshold.
Bona fide unable to file (illness, ITR portal failure during last days) is reasonable cause -- non-prosecution.
Returns u/s 263(4) [139(4) belated] / 264 [updated] -- file even after deadline; prosecution rarely sustained where return filed.
FA 2017 -- 6.07.2017 introduced LIMITED prosecution for senior citizens / women; CBDT Instructions guide.

CROSS-REFERENCES

s. 491 [279] -- sanction and compounding.
s. 486 [278AA] -- reasonable cause.
s. 487 [278B] -- offences by companies.
s. 490 [278E] -- presumption of culpable mental state.

← All sections (537)Act 2025 hub

INCOME-TAX ACT, 2025	INCOME-TAX ACT, 1961
2025 provision	1961 counterpart
s. 479 -- Wilful Failure to Furnish Return	s. 276CC