INCOME TAX DUE DATE EXTENSION UPDATE:
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, via Circular No. 9 of 2021 dated 20th May 2021 has extended the due dates of Income Tax Return, Tax Audit, TDS Statement and Other Compliances to provide relief to taxpayers in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The extended dates have been listed below in a tabular format.
|
S. No. |
Particulars |
Earlier Due Date |
Extended Due Date |
|
1. |
The Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) for the Financial Year 2020-21, required to be furnished under Rule 114E of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as "the Rules") and various notifications issued thereunder; |
31st May 2021 |
30th June 2021 |
|
2. |
The Statement of Reportable Account for the calendar year 2020, required to be furnished under Rule 114G of the Rules; |
31st May 2021 |
30th June 2021 |
|
3. |
The Statement of Deduction of Tax for the last quarter of the Financial Year 2020-21, required to be furnished under Rule 31A of the Rules; TDS Return. |
31st May 2021 |
30th June 2021 |
|
4. |
The Certificate of Tax Deducted at Source in Form No 16, required to be furnished to the employee under Rule 31 of the Rules, Providing Form 16 by Employer to Employee. |
15th June 2021 |
15th July 2021 |
|
5. |
The TDS/TCS Book Adjustment Statement in Form No 24G, required to be furnished under Rule 30 and Rule 37CA of the Rules, |
15th June 2021 |
30th June 2021 |
|
6. |
The Statement of Deduction of Tax from contributions paid by the trustees of an approved superannuation fund for the Financial Year 2020-21, required to be furnished under Rule 33 of the Rules, |
31st May 2021 |
30th June 2021 |
|
7. |
The Statement of Income paid or credited by an investment fund to its unit holder in Form No 64D for the Previous Year 2020-21, required to be furnished under Rule 12CB of the Rules; |
15th June 2021 |
30th June 2021 |
|
8. |
The Statement of Income paid or credited by an investment fund to its unit holder in Form No 64C for the Previous Year 2020-21, required to be furnished under Rule 12CB of the Rules; |
30th June 2021 |
15th July 2021 |
|
9. |
The due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act; For Taxpayers, whose accounts are not liable for Audit. |
31st July 2021 |
30th September 2021 |
|
10. |
The due date of furnishing of Report of Audit under any provision of the Act for the Previous Year 2020-21; Tax Audit Report u/s 44AB. |
30th September 2021 |
31st October 2021 |
|
11. |
The due date of furnishing Report from an Accountant by persons entering into international transaction or specified domestic transaction under section 92E of the Act for the Previous Year 2020-21; Tax Audit u/s 92E. |
31st October 2021 |
30th November 2021 |
|
12. |
The due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act; For Taxpayers, whose accounts are subject to Audit u/s 44AB. |
31st October 2021 |
30th November 2021 |
|
13. |
The due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act; For Taxpayers, whose accounts are subject to Audit u/s 92E. |
30th November 2021 |
31st December 2021 |
|
14. |
The due date of furnishing of belated/revised Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, under sub-section (4)/sub-section (5) of section 139 of the Act; For all the Taxpayers, if they want to revise their return or filing belated return. |
31st December 2021 |
31st January 2022 |
To read the official announcement of due date extension by CBDT, click here
The COVID-19 pandemic had an extremely adverse effect on the professional work capacity of Chartered Accountants, Tax Advocates, Tax Practitioners, and Article Assistants, etc. While the country is slowly moving towards the unlock process, it is no news that the spread and severity of COVID-19 cases is increasing with each passing day.
With the due dates of Tax Audit, Transfer Pricing Audit, Income Tax Return, and various other Audit Reports approaching, various problems are being faced by professionals, some of which are:
1. Infected employees/members/professionals:
Numerous employees, members, and professionals have been infected by COVID-19, making it next to impossible for them to work. On an average, a person who gets infected is not able to work for at least 20 days which can extend up to a month for the post-COVID-19 health recovery. There has also been a lot of mental and emotional stress on the COVID-19 infected professionals and their families.
2. Restricted Movement:
Owing to the pandemic, traveling to the place of audit has become extremely difficult for professionals. This is also because several restrictions are still in place in various states and movement is still limited. Furthermore, commutation through public transport is not fully operational making it all the more difficult for travel to audit places.
3. Details Required for Audit:
Most offices are working from home and hence, details required for carrying on the tax audit and filing of income tax return is not being received promptly, resulting in inefficiency in conducting the audit.
4. Prone to COVID-19
The problem isn’t only with professionals getting infected, but how prone they are to get infected with cases rising every day. Visiting any audit place during this time exposes them to the virus, making them all prone to getting infected with the same. Many senior citizens including senior-aged professionals and senior aged assesses are also advised to stay at home, further reducing the staff capacity.
5. Clash with GSTR 9 and GSTR 9C
Apart from the above reasons, the due date to file the Tax Audit Report is clashing with the due date to file GSTR 9 and GSTR 9C i.e. 31st October 2020. This has put professionals in a very challenging position since most offices don’t have different departments or different employees for audit reports and return filing. This, coupled with all the above reasons has put an uncalled pressure on Chartered Accountants, Tax Advocates, and Tax Practitioners in the middle of a pandemic.
These hindrances are making it extremely difficult for professionals to file returns within the specified due date. Thus, there have been numerous requests for extending the due date of various returns for AY 2020-21. These include:
|
Return |
Current Due Date |
Requested Due Date by professionals |
|
Tax Audit Report |
31st October 2020 |
31st January 2021 or 28th February 2021 |
|
Income Tax Return |
30th November 2020 |
31st March 2021 |
Do you think the Central Board of Direct Taxes will extend the due date for filing of Tax Audit Report and Income Tax Return? Do you think such an extension in the due date for return filing should be made?
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