Ghaziabad Foundation Urges CBDT to Extend Tax Audit Deadline to October 31 Amid Mounting Compliance Pressure:

The Bhartiya Vaishya Global Foundation has urged the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to extend the deadline for filing tax audit reports for Assessment Year 2026-27 from September 30 to October 31, 2026. It has also sought an extension of the income-tax return filing deadline for taxpayers covered by tax audit from October 31 to November 30, 2026.

In a representation to the CBDT Chairman, the Foundation said the present deadlines have created severe pressure on taxpayers, Chartered Accountants and tax professionals. It said the normal timeline for completing tax audits has been affected this year because of changes in accounting formats, delays and revisions in income-tax return forms and utilities, and several other statutory compliances falling in September.

The Foundation said the new accounting format for non-corporate entities, including proprietorships, partnership firms, HUFs, AOPs and trusts, was announced by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on March 31, 2026, and made applicable from FY 2025-26 for entities above the specified turnover limit. According to the representation, businesses that maintained their books throughout the year under the earlier format now have to reorganise and reconcile their accounts with the new requirements, Form 3CD and income-tax returns.

It also pointed to delays and repeated changes in ITR forms and utilities. The Foundation said important utilities, including those for ITR-6, ITR-3 and ITR-5, became available or were revised only in August and September. Such changes require tax professionals and software providers to update systems and recheck information before filing audit reports and returns.

Another concern raised by the Foundation is that the tax audit working period has effectively been reduced. Since the due date for non-audit business returns was moved to August 31, professionals who handle both regular income-tax returns and tax audits had to complete a large part of their return-related work before they could fully concentrate on tax audits in September.

The Foundation also referred to the extended MCA compliance scheme, which continued until September 15. It said Chartered Accountants had to deal with pending company filings, including financial statements, annual returns and other forms, at the same time as tax audit work.

The representation further highlighted the Jain religious festivals of Paryushan and Das Lakshan Parva, which together covered a significant part of September. It said many business owners, accountants and employees observing these festivals faced restricted working hours and, in some cases, closure of establishments, making it difficult to obtain records, confirmations and other information required for audits.

Heavy rainfall and flood-like conditions in several parts of the country were also cited as a reason for seeking more time. The Foundation said waterlogging, power disruptions, internet problems and restricted access to offices and records affected work in parts of Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states.

The Foundation also raised concerns about difficulties on the income-tax portal, including login and OTP problems, DSC-related issues, Form 3CD validation errors, delays in AIS, TIS and Form 26AS data, and slow response during peak hours. It said these difficulties could become more serious as the September 30 deadline approaches.

The representation noted that September already has several other statutory deadlines, including GST filings, TDS-related compliances, advance tax, EPF and ESI payments, MCA filings and other regulatory requirements. According to the Foundation, the concentration of so many compliances in September has left taxpayers and professionals with very little uninterrupted time for completing tax audits properly.

The Foundation said an extension would not result in any major loss of tax revenue because tax collection is primarily through advance tax and self-assessment tax, rather than through the tax audit report itself. It argued that giving auditors additional time could instead improve the quality and accuracy of audit reports and reduce errors, mismatches, revised filings and future litigation.

The Foundation has therefore requested the CBDT to extend the "Tax Audit Deadline" to October 31, 2026, and similarly extend other audit-related reports, including Forms 10B and 10BB. It has also sought extension of the return filing deadline for audit cases to November 30, 2026, along with consequential relief for transfer-pricing cases.

It has further urged the CBDT to announce the decision well before September 30, saying that an announcement just a day or two before the deadline would provide little practical relief to taxpayers and professionals.

For future years, the Foundation has suggested that all income-tax return forms, schemas, utilities and validation rules should be released and finalised by April 30. It has also proposed a permanent compliance calendar under which tax audit reports would be due by October 31 and audit-case income-tax returns by November 30.

The Foundation said the requested extension would give taxpayers and professionals adequate time to complete audits carefully and would help improve the overall quality of tax compliance and administration.