In a major relief to thousands of taxpayers, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Thursday has extended the income tax return (ITR) filing deadline for the financial year 2020-21 to December 31, 2021 from September 30. The extension came as several taxpayers had expressed their dissatisfaction with the new income tax portal while filing ITR in the last few months. On June 7, the Income Tax department had introduced a new tax e-filing portal to make ITR filing smooth and hassle-free. From pre-filled income tax return forms to quick refunds — the new portal has tons of new features to provide a “modern and seamless experience to taxpayers”. However, new income tax e-filing portal has been marred by glitches and other problems from inception.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also summoned Infosys chief executive officer Salil Parekh to fix the issues on the new income tax portal. Sitharaman had asked them to fix all the problems by September 15. “On consideration of difficulties reported by the taxpayers and other stakeholders in filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22 under the Income-tax Act, 1961(the “Act”), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to further extend the due dates for filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22,” the CBDT said in a statement on Thursday.
This was the second time that the finance ministry had extended the due dates for filing income tax return this fiscal. The usual due dates for filing income tax return for the year 2020-21 was July 31. Earlier the deadline to file income tax return was extended to September 30 in the view of coronavirus pandemic in the country. “The due date of furnishing of return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, which was 31st July, 2021 under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act, as extended to 30th September, 2021 vide Circular No.9/2021 dated 20.05.2021, is hereby further extended to 31st December, 2021,” the CBDT said in a statement.
“This is a welcome move considering the glitches of the tax website has still to be resolved. However one needs to note that where taxes are payable, the interest levy for default and deferment in advance taxes would continue till the filing of the tax return. Hence it is ideal that the tax payers pay taxes and file their returns as soon as feasible,” said Aarti Raote, partner, Deloitte India.
News18.com first reported on August 23 that income tax return filing deadline for FY21 may need to be extended beyond September 30 due to glitches in the new income tax portal.
Apart from the income tax return filing for FY 2020-21, the CBDT also extended various tax compliance guidelines on Thursday
1) The due date of furnishing of return of income for the assessment year 2021-22 hereby further has been further extended to February 15, 2022. Earlier the due date was extended to November 30.
2) Income Tax department also extended the due date of filing report from an accountant by persons entering into international transaction or specified domestic transaction under section 92E for the 2020-21. Now they have time till January 31, 2022.
3) Income Tax department has extended the due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, which is 30th November, 2021 under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act, as extended to 31st December, 2021 vide Circular No.9/2021 dated 20.05.2021, is hereby further extended to 28th February, 2022
4) The due date of furnishing of report of audit under any provision of the Income Tax Act for the Previous Year 2020-21 has been extended January 15, 2022. Earlier the due date was October 31, 2021.
6) The due date of furnishing of belated/revised return of income for the assessment year 2021-22, which is December 31, 2021 under sub-section (4)/sub-section (5) of section 139 of the Act, as extended to January 30, 2022, vide Circular No.9/2021 dated 20.05.2021, is hereby further extended to March 31, 2022.
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