Will ITR Filing Deadline be Extended beyond July 31; Know What Tax Department Said

The Income Tax Department has reaffirmed that the deadline for filing income tax returns (ITRs) for the financial year 2023-24 remains July 31. Contrary to predictions and speculation, the tax department said that there will be no deadline extension this year, advising taxpayers to complete their forms on time to avoid penalties or last-minute headaches.

The Income Tax Department also reported that over five crore ITRs had been filed as of July 26, representing a huge rise over last year.

In a recent post on Twitter, the department applauded the milestone, writing, “We express our gratitude to the taxpayers and tax professionals for helping us reach the milestone of 5 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs).”

This comes despite multiple taxpayers and chartered accountants reporting issues with the tax filing facility. There were reported issues in generating OTPs and claiming rebates.

Chartered accountants have appealed to the tax department requesting an extension of the deadline due to these challenges.

Earlier CBDT Chairman confirmed that these issues have been resolved after noting taxpayers’ worries about the delay in issuing TDS and Form 16 certificates, as well as the “slowness” of the IT system.

“Even hourly filings have reached an all-time level. As a result, I am certain we will be able to fix it within the next six days. The majority of the issues have been addressed and remedied, and there was no apparent reporting of any of these difficulties, such as downtime yesterday, and there is still no problem today,” he stated last Thursday afternoon.

Missing the Filing Deadline has Consequences

Don’t Miss the ITR Filing Deadline. Missing the July 31 ITR filing deadline might result in substantial consequences including:

• Loss of benefits under the old tax regime.
• Automatic transition to the new tax regime, which could increase tax liability.
• Late filing fee: Rs.5,000 (Rs 1,000 for income under Rs.5 lakh).
• Interest on overdue taxes is calculated at 1% each month.
• There is no carry-forward of losses to offset future revenue.