Extension of ITR due date till 31st August requested by CAIT

Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has made a representation to Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Minister for Finance to extend the due date of filing Income Tax Returns u/s 139(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 in non-audit cases from 31/07/2023 to 31/08/2023.

The taxpayers in non-audit cases are required to file the return of income u/s 139(1) of the Income Tax Act by 31/07/2023. The taxpayers and their consultants are facing some difficulties in preparing and uploading the return of income.

The data required for filing of returns are to be matched with different forms and statements such as Form No. 26AS, AIS, and TIS. These forms and statements were made available only at the end of the month of June 2023 on the portal. The salaried taxpayers and the retired pensioners did not get Form No.16 in respect of income from salaries and the TDS certificates issued for tax deduction at source from salary/pension and interest and dividend income.

Many times it is observed that employers and banks do not issue TDS certificates in time. In the case of the taxpayers having income from business or profession, there is a problem of TDS not being reflected in Form No. 26AS because the deductors whose books are required to be audited have deducted the tax but not deposited in Government Account. They deposit the tax before their due date of filing of their return of income which is at a later date i., 31.10.2023.

The other difficulties faced by the tax payers and the consultants are that there was heavy rain in major parts of India and there is a problem of flood, no electricity supply, no transport facility etc. due to which the tax payers and staff of the consultants could not work. The computer systems in general are not cloud based so the employees of the consultant have to attend the office to provide his services. In some cases the books of accounts have been destroyed due to flood. Secondly, the entire country is affected by viral and infectious deceases like viral fever, conjunctivitis etc due to which again the staff and tax payers are unable to comply in time.

In light of these issues, CAIT has requested our FM to take into consideration the hardships faced by the taxpayers to issue necessary instructions for an extension of the due date for filing.