Section 216 of Income Tax Act "Interest payable by assessee in case of under-estimate, etc"
216. Where, on making the regular assessment, the Assessing
Officer finds that any assessee has-
(a) under section 209A or section 212 under-estimated the
advance tax payable by him and thereby reduced the amount
payable in either of the first two instalments; or
(b) under section 213 wrongly deferred the payment of
advance tax on a part of his income ;
he may direct that the assessee shall pay simple interest at
fifteen per cent per annum-
(i) in the case referred to in clause (a), for the period
during which the payment was deficient, on the difference
between the amount paid in each such instalment and the
amount which should have been paid, having regard to the
aggregate advance tax actually paid during the year; and
(ii) in the case referred to in clause (b), for the period
during which the payment of advance tax was so deferred.
Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, any
instalment due before the expiry of six months from the
commencement of the previous year in respect of which it is
to be paid shall be deemed to have become due fifteen days
after the expiry of the said six months.
217. (1) Where, on making the regular assessment, the
Assessing Officer finds-
(a) that any such person as is referred to in clause (a) of
sub-section (1) of section 209A has not sent the statement
referred to in that clause or the estimate in lieu of such
statement referred to in sub-section (2) of that section; or
(b) that any such person as is referred to in clause (b) of
sub-section (1) of section 209A has not sent the estimate
referred to in that clause,
simple interest at the rate of fifteen per cent per annum
from the 1st day of April next following the financial year
in which the advance tax was payable in accordance with the
said sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) up to the date of
the regular assessment shall be payable by the assessee upon
the amount equal to the assessed tax as defined in
sub-section (5) of section 215.
(1A) Where, on making the regular assessment, the Assessing
Officer finds that any person who is required to send an
estimate under sub-section (4) of section 209A or any such
person as is referred to in sub-section (3A) of section 212
has not sent the estimate referred to therein, simple
interest at the rate of fifteen per cent per annum from the
1st day of April next following the financial year in which
the advance tax was payable in accordance with the said
sub-section (4) or, as the case may be, sub-section (3A) up
to the date of the regular assessment shall be payable by
the assessee upon the amount by which the advance tax paid
by him falls short of the assessed tax as defined in
sub-section (5) of section 215.
(2) The provisions of sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) of
section 215 shall apply to interest payable under this
section as they apply to interest payable under that
section.