Extend Income Tax Returns & Tax Audit Reports for FY 2020-21: Gujarat Chamber of Commerce
Reetu | Dec 16, 2021 |
Extend Income Tax Returns & Tax Audit Reports for FY 2020-21: Gujarat Chamber of Commerce
Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry has requested that Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Union Minister of Finance, extend the deadlines for filing income tax returns and submitting tax audit reports for FY 2020-21 (AY 2021-22).
It has been submitted that the due date for submission of Tax Audit Report Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account under Income Tax Act, 1961 for A.Y. 2021-22 is 15th Jan 2022. The Audit work includes verification of Turnover and ITC on purchases and expenses as well. Due to Practical difficulties faced by taxpayers & tax professionals in filing: [a] Income tax returns, tax audit forms [b] System glitches in new website launch. The request representation has been submitted.
Below is a Copy of the Representation Submitted :
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman
Hon’ble Union Minister of Finance,
Ministry of Finance,
Government of India,
North Block,
New Delhi — 110001
Sub: Extension of due dates of Income tax returns & submission of Tax audit reports for FY 2020-21 (AY 2021-22)
Respected Madam,
We would like to place on record our sincere appreciation to the laudable efforts taken by the government towards fighting the COVID-19 pandemic with record vaccinations and timely support to the citizens. We applaud the vision of having a new income tax e-filing website which aims to provide convenience and a “modern, seamless experience” to taxpayers. We are confident that slew of taxpayer friendly measures planned by the Government will address several intricate problems relating to taxation, synchronously fulfil its vision of having more transparency in the system with minimal interaction between tax payers and tax authorities. This regime has provided us with new hope and optimism for a future bereft of the virus.
Globally, Omicron has reached nearly 60 countries, and many nations have started putting restrictions and lockdowns are back in place. India reported 7,992 cases on 10th December 2021 and the cases are on gradual rise on a daily basis. Triggered by the rising Omicron cases in Maharashtra, the state government has banned large gatherings and imposed other restrictions within Mumbai. The state has the highest cases with the new SARS-CoV-2 ‘variant of concern’ in the country till date. On the other hand, 32 cases of the new variant of concern Omicron have been detected so far in the country, which is a cause for concern. This is especially so because people have been wearing masks less and not following the proper COVID protocols.
With Omicron, the experts predict that the third wave of coronavirus could hit the peak by January end with cases likely to be reaching up to 1-1.5 lakh a day in the country. An Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) team, which launched a Covid tracker website, has predicted that Omicron variant cases may touch 1.5 lakh cases when at peak and will totally subside by March 22. Most of the companies have advised their staffs to continue working remotely wherever possible.
Due to COVID-19 pandemic and new OMICORN variant, following issues are being faced by the trade and industry:
We would like to convey our gratitude and congratulate you and your ministry for taking up the pro-active and forward-looking step of launching of new Income tax e-filing portal with the objective of realizing many functional improvements and to bring in many better and improved functionalities. While we support the various initiatives taken by the government in trying to establish a robust mechanism to ease the compliances of taxpayers, we would like to bring to your notice that even after expiry of more than five months, the portal is still not functioning upto its full capacity, going under frequent maintenance issues and there are many technical glitches causing great and unavoidable hardships to the taxpayers and their representatives.
There has also been constant updation of the utilities and instructions for filing the Income Tax returns (ITR) and Tax audit reports. For instance, the utility for ITR-5 was updated on 9th December, 2021, for ITR-6 on 3rd December, 2021 and for Income Tax forms (forms 3CA/CB-3CD) the latest version was released on 9th December, 2021. The software companies also take time to update the same and hence the filing gets delayed.
Further, we are also facing issues in uploading specific forms and reports like Form 10-IC (domestic company choosing to pay tax at concessional rate of 22% under Section 115BAA of the Act), Form 29B (for MAT) and Form 10B (Audit report under section 12A(b) of the Act) and transfer pricing report u/s 92E of the Act.
Basis the above-mentioned issues, we are requesting for extension of the following due dates under Income Tax Act, 1961:
In an ordinary scenario, delaying compliances, is considered to be an ominous sign for a business’ health. But these are exceptional circumstances and even post the second wave of COVID-19 resumption of activities has been at a very slow pace. Hence the earlier dates of December end / January mid which seemed reasonable at one time is now looking extremely difficult.
We all are facing this unprecedented situation and we require your co-operation and patient hearing to our concerns. We would be very grateful if your good self would take an early action in this regard and have a positive consideration of our requests. This will be very useful for the taxation fraternity and also for the trade and industry. In conclusion, we request that a suitable orders / clarification may be issued to this effect at the earliest.
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