One of the most prominent murmurs going on among taxpayers and experts alike is, will the due date for ITR filing get extended? Normally, the due date for filing ITR is 31st July of the assessment year. However, taking into account, the havoc wrecked by covid, the due date was extended to 30th September 2021 where tax audit is not applicable & 30th November 2021 where audit is applicable.
So why are there murmurs of the possibility of it getting extended yet again?
Glitches in the new Income Tax Portal
The ITD launched the new Income Tax portal on 7th June 2021 with a lot of fanfare. The portal with its swanky new interface promised a seamless user experience.
However, it has been a rocky road for the new portal ever since its launch. Taxpayers have been facing difficulties while trying to file their returns as well as while using the other services offered by the portal.
Many taxpayers took to various online platforms, to express their dissatisfaction. This did not go unnoticed by the Financial Minister who urged Infosys, the vendor to step up and resolve the glitches on the new portal at the earliest.
Although several glitches on the new portal have been fixed, some of them still persist making it difficult for many taxpayers to file their returns. The portal went under emergency maintenance on 21st August and was completely unavailable for two days. Filing seemed to have picked up after the portal went live again & an average of 400,000 returns are being filed every day since the past week. Despite significant improvements in the portal and in the number of returns being filed, many taxpayers continue to face glitches on the new portal.
Taking this into account The Finance Minister had summoned the CEO of Infosys for a meeting on 23rd August to seek an explanation for the persisting glitches
Ministry of Finance has summoned Sh Salil Parekh,MD&CEO @Infosys on 23/08/2021 to explain to hon’ble FM as to why even after 2.5 months since launch of new e-filing portal, glitches in the portal have not been resolved. In fact,since 21/08/2021 the portal itself is not available.
— Income Tax India (@IncomeTaxIndia) August 22, 2021
Post the meeting, the FM had given Infosys a deadline of 15th September to Infosys in order to fix all the glitches on the portal.
Due dates extended for e-filing of various forms under Income Tax Act
The CBDT has already extended the due date for filing various forms, such as:
- The due date for uploading of the declarations received from recipients in Form No. 15G/15H during the Q1 FY 2021-22 has been extended till November 30, instead of the previous due date of July 15, 2021 & more
- The application for registration or intimation or approval under Section 10(23C), 12A, 35(1)(ii)/(iia)/(iii) or 80G of the Act in Form No. 10A now can be filed by March 31, 2022, instead of the prior due date of June 30, 2021. Also the due date for application for registration or approval under Section 10(23C), 12A, 35(1)(ii)/(iia)/(iii) or 80G of the Act in Form No. 10A has been extended to 31st March 2022 instead of 30th June 2021.
- The Equalisation Levy Statement in Form No.1 for the Financial Year 2020- 21 can be filed by December 31, 2021, as against the prior due date of August 31, 2021 & more
So is the due date for ITR filing getting extended too?
Despite the ITR filing picking up pace, many taxpayers are still struggling to file their returns on the new portal. And if we assume that the portal will be fully functional by 15th September, as per the deadline given by the Finance Minister, that leaves a very narrow window for taxpayers to file their returns.
Experts have pointed out that it would be in the best interest of taxpayers to extend the due date for filing since, it would be difficult for them to get accustomed to the new portal and file their returns, all within a span of 15 days. Although the new portal promises a much quicker filing of returns, the narrow window of 2 weeks can prove to be quite uncomfortable for not only ordinary taxpayers but also CAs.
Not to mention that last year the Government had extended the due date for ITR filing 4 times and the final due date was 10th January 2021.
It must be noted that the extension of ITR filing due date will lead to a chain reaction and the due dates for Audits and other formalities may also get extended.
So do you think the due date for ITR filing for FY 2020-21 will get extended? Share your thoughts with us