No further Extension for due dates of Tax Audit Reports: CBDT Order

The Central Board of Direct Tax has passed order no. F.NO. 370153/39/2020-TPL  mentioning no further extension of Tax Audit Reports Due dates.

The Hon’ble Gujarat High Court vide judgment dated 8th January 2021 in the case of The All India Gujarat Federation of Tax Consultants Vs. Union of India, SCA 13653 of 2020, has directed the Ministry of Finance to look into the issue of extension of due dates for filing of Audit Report under section 44AB of the Income-tax Act more particularly the representation dated 12.10.2020, and take an appropriate decision in accordance with the law.

It has been mentioned in the order that due date was extended to 31st October 2020 vide the Taxation and Other laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020, 31st December 2020 vide notification S.O. 3906(E) dated 29th October 2020 and further to 15th January 2020 vide notification S.O. 4805 (E) dated 31st December 2020.

The Government has not only considered representations of various stakeholders but also has been proactive in providing relaxation to the taxpayers by extending due dates regularly.

It is apparent from the data that the number of returns filed this year has already exceeded the number of returns filed last year up to 31 st August which was the last day of filing of all the returns other than the company/tax audit returns, by about 6%.

As per the data given in the order, it show that majority of the audit reports under section44AB of the Act as well as income tax returns are filed within the last few days of the dates only. For A.Y. 2019-20, it is seen that 24% of total audit reports were filed in last 3 days before the due date. Therefore, lesser filing compliances having been made much before the due date cannot be said to be an anomalous situation.

F.NO. 370153/39/2020-TPL
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
(CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES)
(TAX POLICY AND LEGISLATION DMSION)
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New Delhi, 11th January 2021

ORDER UNDER SECTION 119 OF INCOME TAX ACT, 1961

The Hon’ble Gujarat High Court vide judgment dated 8th January 2021 in the case of The All India Gujarat Federation of Tax Consultants Vs. Union of India, SCA 13653 of 2020, has directed the Ministry of Finance to look into the issue of extension of due dates for filing of Audit Report under section 44AB of the Income-tax Act more particularly the representation dated 12.10.2020, and take an appropriate decision in accordance with the law.

2. In the wake of the global pandemic due to COVID-19 the due dates for filing of income tax returns for A.Y. 2020-21 was extended vide the Taxation and Other laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 (which was enacted on 29th September 2020) to 30th November 2020. Subsequently, vide notification S.O. 3906(E) dated 29th October 2020 the due dates for filing of returns were further extended to 31st January 2021 for cases in which tax audit report under section 44AB of the Income-tax Act (“the Act”) is required to be filed and 31st December 2020 for all other cases. Further, vide notification S.O. 4805 (E) dated 31st December 2020 the above due dates were further extended to 15th February 2021 and 10th January 2021 respectively.

3. As per the prov1s10ns of the Act the due date for filing of the audit report under section 44AB is one month prior to the due date of filing of the income tax return. Therefore, the said due date was extended to 31st October 2020 vide the Taxation and Other laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020, 31st December 2020 vide notification S.O. 3906(E) dated 29th October 2020 and further to 15th January 2020 vide notification S.O. 4805 (E) dated 31st December 2020.

4. The due dates for payment of self-assessment tax, for taxpayers whose amount due does not exceed rupees one lakh, also coincide with the due dates for filing of income tax returns. The table below summarises the various due date extensions given:-