I-T returns deadline for taxpayers under section 44AB extended till October 31

The government on Thursday extended the deadline for the filing of tax returns that were due on September 30, 2015 by a month to October 31, 2015.

“The issue of extension of last date for e-filing returns of income and audit reports… due by 30th September, 2015 has been the subject matter of litigation in various High Courts across the country. While some High Courts have ruled in favour of the extension of due date, some others have ruled otherwise. In order to avoid discrimination between taxpayers residing in different jurisdictions and to be fair to all… the Government has decided that across the country, all the returns of income and audit reports u/s 44AB which were due for e-filing by 30th September, 2015, may now be filed by 31st October, 2015,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes said in a release.

While the Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab & Haryana, Bombay, and Orissa High Courts instructed the CBDT to extend the deadline to October 31, 2015, the petitions filed in the Rajasthan, Delhi, Hyderabad and Calcutta High Courts were either dismissed or the hearings were adjourned.

“The erstwhile September 30 deadline applied to all those individuals or entities that needed to get their books of account audited. This includes individuals who have their own businesses with a turnover of over Rs 1 crore a year, professionals like chartered accountants, architects, etc, who have an annual income of more than above Rs 25 lakh and all businesses,” Varun Advani, Chief Operating Officer, makemyreturns.com told The Hindu.

Some companies complained that since the relevant income tax returns forms were made available very late, they didn’t have enough time to file their returns and complete the audits. However, the plea for extension of deadline also came from chartered accountants who found it difficult to cope with the large number of returns and the tight deadlines.

“The fact that the due date for individuals was extended was a problem for many chartered accountants. These accountants have to perform their services for individuals as well as the companies they have a charter with. In this case, because the deadline were nearly overlapping, the traffic became too much too handle and so they filed petitions for the extension of deadlines,” Mr Advani said.

The Finance Ministry on September 2 announced that the deadline for filing income tax returns that were due on August 31 —applicable for individuals who earned income through salary or interest — had been extended to September 7. This marked the second time it has extended the deadline this year.