ITR Filing: Delay in E-Filing Tools, But No extension in Tax Deadline

All the seven ITR forms has been released by the Income Tax Department for the AY 2025-26. These forms consist of ITR-1 to ITR-7, along with the verification form ITR-V. A new form has been added this year called as the ITR-U form. This form was introduced on May 19, helping taxpayers to file or revise their returns up to 48 months later, according to the updated Finance Act.

Taxpayers can not file their returns currently even after all the ITR forms are available for download. This is because of the unavailability of e-filing utilities tools which are required to submit the forms on the official Income Tax website. Without these tools, taxpayers can only view the forms but not use them for filing their taxes online.

The e-filing utilities are very important tools provided by the Income Tax Department, which makes it easy for the users to file their tax returns digitally. These utilities were offered in three forms last year: Offline (Java or JSON), Online, Excel versions. The regular taxpayers opted for the online version for a more guided experience.

The online utility comes with some of the financial details filled already. Taxpayers can check and update this information according to them before submitting their return. Last year, about 43.82% of tax returns were filed through this online method before the deadline.

Users are required to download the tool, fill in the required details on their computer in case of offline or Excel utilities and upload the file on the e-filing portal to complete their submission. However, the utilities are not available right now, the taxpayers are currently limited to only checking the available forms and preparing in advance.

The Income Tax Department has not officially mentioned anything about the delay in releasing the e-filing utilities. It is being assumed that the delay can be related to the changes made in the ITR forms for this year.

This delay has increased questions regarding the possible extension of the ITR filing deadline. Most taxpayers file their returns in June and July, so there is still enough time for the department to activate the utilities before then. Also, the return processing system has improved during the years and become much quicker.

The due date to file ITR is July 31, 2025, for those individuals who are not required to audit their accounts. Taxpayers are advised to stay prepared and keep on checking for updates on the availability of the e-filing utilities to avoid any penalties.