The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Thursday extended the deadline for filing income tax returns(ITR) for FY 2020-21 (AY 2021-22) to September 30.
“The Central Board of Direct Taxes, in the exercise of its power under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, provides relaxation…,” the official statement mentioned. The decision was taken in the wake of the second wave of coronavirus pandemic in the country. The Income Tax department also extended several tax compliance deadlines earlier.
Filing Income Tax Returns For 2020-21
The government today extended the due date of filing income tax returns for 2020-21 for individuals by two months till 30 September.
The ITR filing deadline The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has also extended the ITR filing deadline for companies by a month till November 30.
CBDT said an extension of time limits is being given for certain tax compliances “to provide relief to taxpayers given the severe pandemic”.
Income Tax Return Using ITR-1 Or ITR-4 Forms
As per the income tax law, for individuals whose accounts are not required to be audited and who usually file their income tax return using ITR-1 or ITR-4 forms the deadline to file ITR is July 31.
The deadline for taxpayers, like companies or firms, whose accounts are required to be audited is October 31.
Deadline For Form 16 By Employers To Employees
CBDT also said that the deadline for issuing Form 16 by employers to employees has been extended by a month till 15 July.
The due date for filing the tax audit report and transfer pricing certificate has been extended by a month till October 31 and November 30, respectively.
Filing Belated Or Revised Return Of Income
For filing belated or revised return of income, the due date is now January 31, 2022.
Besides, the deadline for financial institutions to furnish the Statement of Financial Transaction (SFT) report has been extended till June 30, from May 31, 2021.
New E-filing Portal For Filing Income Tax
Income Tax Department on Wednesday said that it would launch a new e-filing portal http://incometax.gov.in on June 7.
The existing portal will be unavailable to taxpayers for six days, starting from June 1 to June 6, Income Tax India said in a statement.
“The new e-filing portal is aimed at providing taxpayer convenience and a modern, seamless experience to taxpayers. It is another step by CBDT to provide ease of compliance to its taxpayers & other stakeholders,” it further added.
The Date Relaxations Will Reduce The Burden For Businesses
“Various due date relaxations will reduce the compliance burden for businesses that have been struggling in the current crisis. This also emphasizes how critical it is for businesses to move their tax compliance fully online,” ClearTax CEO added.
The tax department earlier said it has issued over Rs 24,792 crore refunds to more than 15 lakh taxpayers so far this fiscal.
“CBDT issues refunds of over Rs 24,792 crore to more than 15 lakh taxpayers between 1st April 2021 to 17th May 2021,” the Income Tax department tweeted.
Of this personal income tax refunds worth Rs 7,458 crore were refunded in over 14.98 lakh cases. The corporate tax refunds of Rs 17,334 crore were issued to 43,661 taxpayers.