Chartered Accountants Go on Pen-Down Strike Demanding Tax Audit Deadline Extension

Several Chartered Accountants across the country held a one-day ‘Pen Down’ Strike, where they refused to submit any tax audit reports. This comes after the Chartered Accountants and other professional bodies raised concerns over the continuous glitches on the income tax e-filing portal.

The strike is organised through social media using the hashtag #PenDownNoExtensionNoAudit and is held by the CA community.

Over the past few weeks, many chartered accountants and other tax bodies have requested the government extend the tax audit due date. Despite repeated requests, the government has not given any relief regarding the tax audit due date.

On the strike day on September 24, the CAs held a peaceful demonstration outside the ICAI headquarters in New Delhi, demanding the tax audit due date extension. The CAs are complaining that they are being forced to work even during the festive season. The income tax e-filing portal is facing several glitches, which is affecting the timely and accurate compliance.

Many tax professionals on social media have shared posts of working late nights and the portal errors. In a recent case, a CA died of a heart attack while he was working on Sunday. The compliance pressure has created stress on the chartered accountants.

The social media platforms especially platform X (previously known as Twitter), are flooded with the hashtag #PenDownNoExtensionNoAudit, demanding the tax audit due date extension, citing the glitches on the income tax portal and the delay in releasing the key forms.

On the same day, both the Rajasthan High Court and Karnataka High Court issued interim orders extending the due date to October 31, 2025, after observing the technical issues and the need for enough time to ensure accurate tax compliance. However, the extension was only for their respective states. Meanwhile, over 30 writ petitions have been filed in other High Courts across India asking for similar relief.

As of September 22, only about 3.7 lakh tax audit reports have been filed, which is much lower than expected at this time of year.

The government has not replied to the nationwide extension yet. The Chartered Accountants are waiting for the CBDT to release the extension notification.