Barnala Trade & CA Community Demand Extension of ITR and Audit Report Deadline:

Barnala Trade & CA Community Demand Extension of ITR and Audit Report Deadline The representatives of the Chartered Accountant Community, Industrial Chamber, and Trade Association of Barnala have recently submitted a representation to the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer for forwarding to the Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBDT). In the representation, they cited the difficulties faced by taxpayers this year. These are as follows: Delay in ITR Utilities ITR forms this year were available very late. ITR-3 was released in late July 2025, and ITR-5, ITR-6, and ITR-7 in August. Because of this, taxpayers got very little time to prepare and file. The due date for filing ITR for non-audit cases was extended to Sept 16th, but no extension has been given for audited ITR whose due date is October 31, 2025. Also, the due date for submitting audit reports under section 44AB and other sections under the Income Tax Act is still September 30.

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This creates hardship for both professionals and taxpayers and disturbs the proper time gap between due dates. Natural Calamity This year, Punjab, Jammu, Himachal, and Uttarakhand had the worst floods and heavy rainfalls during August-September 2025. In Barnala, 1.75 lakh acres of farmland experienced flooding. While some villages are still waterlogged. Due to these situations, taxpayers, auditors, and institutions were directly affected, as it caused infrastructural damage, loss of crops and loss of working space in Barnala. Waiver of Penalty Under Section 271B Usually, if accounts are not audited before the due date, a penalty under Section 271B is levied. But if the reason for the failure is genuine, Section 273B gives relief in such a situation. They mentioned that in the current situation, the reasons for failure, including the late release of ITR utilities, heavy reporting requirements, and natural calamities, are all reasonable causes.

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The CA community and trade bodies have requested to:

• Extend "specified date" under Section 44AB and the return filing due date of 31st October 2025.
• Give assurance that no penalty under Section 271B will be levied if delays occur due to the mentioned causes, even if CBDT does not extend the deadlines.