GOVT EXTENDS ITR FILING DATE BY TWO MONTHS TO SEPTEMBER 30

MUMBAI: The government has extended the timelines for various income tax compliances due to the second wave. For individuals, the due date to file income tax returns for the financial year 2020-21 has been extended by two months to September 30. In the regular course, the deadline for taxpayers whose accounts are not audited is July 31.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has given a onemonth (July 15) extension to companies for furnishing Form 16. According to the present rules, employers must provide Form 16 to employees by June 15.

Companies have also received an extension of one month to file their income tax returns (ITRA). They can now file it by November 30. Taxpayers can now file belated and revised returns by 31 January instead of December 31.

The CBDT said it is extending the deadline “due to the hardships faced by various stakeholders on account of the pandemic”.

Tax experts said the extension would help taxpayers. “It will offer some relief to taxpayers, especially businesses hit by Covid-19,” said Preeti Khurana, tax expert and spokesperson of taxfiling website Cleartax.in.

Several other compliance deadlines have been extending, including reporting the statement of financial transactions, statement of reportable account and statement of deduction of tax. CBDT will also be launching a new e-filing portal. Due to this, the incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in site will not be available from 1 June to June 6.

The website will also have updated frequently asked questions, tutorials, videos and a chatbot or a live agent to answer queries. Taxpayers will also be able to file income tax through the income tax department’s mobile app, and there will be more payment options than before. “Based on the changes, the government will also be doing away with Xml-based filing. It has introduced newer technology for ITR filing,” said Naveen Wadhwa, a chartered accountant and DGM at Taxmann.com.