AIMTPA Requests Finance Ministry to Extend TAR and Audit ITR Due Dates After Workload Mounts :

All India MSME and Tax Professionals Association (ΑΙΜΤΡΑ) has sent a representation dated September 16, 2026, to the honourable Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, requesting an extension of the tax audit report (TAR) and Audit ITR due dates.

At the start of the representation, the association appreciated the government's efforts to amend the Income Tax Return (ITR) filing calendar by revising the due dates for non-audit business and professional returns from July 31 to August 31.

However, the deadline for furnishing the Tax Audit Report (TAR) remained unchanged, i.e., September 30, because of which taxpayers are left with only one-month gap between completion of non-audit business return filing and Tax Audit compliance.

The change has created practical difficulty because, in most MSME and professional practices, the same Chartered Accountants, Tax Practitioners, Accountants and staff members are responsible for filing both non-audit business returns as well as completing Tax Audits.

The process of furnishing a tax audit report is not just limited to its upload on the portal; it requires thorough verification and reconciliation of books of account, GST data, TDS records, AIS/TIS, debtors, creditors, stock, statutory payments, loans, fixed assets, depreciation and several other particulars required under the Tax Audit Report.

After the completion of the non-audit filing season, which continues after August 31, taxpayers are left with only one month to complete the entire audit exercise by September 30. Consequently, this limited time period is creating unavoidable pressure on filers (both taxpayers and professionals) and is compressing the available working period.

The association wrote in the representation that it is very significant to have a reasonable time gap between the due dates of the tax audit report (TAR) and the Audit ITR, as it ensures quality, accuracy and proper verification in audit reporting, rather than merely achieving filing within a compressed deadline.

The association has highlighted the following reasons in the representation for requesting due date extensions:

• The same professionals handle both non-audit and audit cases.

• Tax audit requires substantial verification and reconciliation work.

• MSMEs often depend upon external professionals for finalisation of accounts.

• A compressed deadline can adversely affect audit quality.

• Better reconciliation reduces incorrect reporting, revised returns, notices and litigation.

• Small and medium professional firms face the greatest workload pressure.

• A permanent rationalised calendar will avoid repeated extension requests every year.

For the aforementioned reasons, the association has requested the government for the following extensions: