Sales Tax Bar Associate Urges Finance Minister to Extend Tax Audit Report Filing Due Date for AY 2025-26:

Sales Tax Bar Associate Urges Finance Minister to Extend Tax Audit Report Filing Due Date for AY 2025-26 The Sales Bar Association, an association of Tax Professionals in India, has submitted a formal request to the Hon'ble Union Minister of Finance, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, regarding the extension of the due date for filing the Tax Audit Reports for the Assessment Year 2025-26.

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The Bar submitted that it has nearly 2000 members, including Advocates, Chartered Accountants (CAs) and Tax Practitioners. Their members were appointed to key positions like judges in the Delhi High Court and some as members of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT). The Bar highlighted the following difficulties to justify the extension of the deadline:

• Timeline Clash: The ITR filing extended due date is scheduled for September 15, 2025, while the due date for filing the Tax audit report is still September 30, 2025. This leaves no proper gap between the two filings.
• Delay in Releasing TAR Utility: The utility was released late. The Excel utility for TAR and ITR forms required for compliance was released in August 2025, which resulted in a delay in starting the audit processes.
• Technical Errors: There are still lots of glitches in the income tax portal affecting the smooth filing of ITR and the Tax Audit Report, also affecting the timely compliance.
• Last Minute Notifications: In the past, the government has often extended deadlines at the last moment. It causes panic and confusion among taxpayers and professionals. This affects the quality of compliance and increases stress.
• Increased Reporting Requirements: This year, the reporting formats have been changed for the audits of non-corporate entities. This requires more time to understand the format and report the information correctly and accurately.

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The Bar has requested to extend the due date of filing tax audit reports for Assessment Year 2025-26 under the Income Tax Act, 1961, until November 15, 2025, giving enough time between the ITR filing and the TAR filing to ensure timely compliance. The Bar has also requested to avoid releasing the notification at the last minute. It requested the notification to be released in advance so that the taxpayers do not panic or face any other difficulties. This extension is much needed, as it will not only improve the accuracy and quality of reporting but also deepen the relationship of mutual trust between the tax authority and the stakeholders.