CBDT extends deadline for filing Income Tax returns for AY 2021-22 to 31 December
This comes merely a day after the income tax department said a number of technical issues on the new ITR portal are being progressively addressed and 1.19 crore ITRs for 2020-21 fiscal year have been filed so far.
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The Central Board of Direct Taxes on Thursday extended the deadline to file Income Tax returns from 30 September to 31 December amid the coronavirus pandemic and technical glitches in the IT portal.
"On consideration of difficulties reported by the taxpayers and other stakeholders in filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22 under the Income-tax Act, 1961, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to further extend the due dates for filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22," the finance ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, the deadline was extended to 30 September, 2021. Usually, the last date for filing the ITR (Income Tax Returns) for the individual taxpayers is 31 July.
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The CBDT has also extended the ITR filing deadline for companies till 15 February, 2022 from 30 November, 2021.
The due date for filing the tax audit report and transfer pricing certificate has been extended to 15 January, 2022 and 31 January, 2022, respectively, from the existing deadline of 31 October and 30 November respectively. For filing belated or revised return of income, the last date has been extended by another two months to 31 March, 2022.
With regard to resolution of glitches in the tax portal, the finance ministry on Wednesday said it is continuously engaging with Infosys to ensure a smooth filing experience for taxpayers. On 1 April, the CBDT notified the forms for filing I-T returns for 2020-21 fiscal. For the 2020-21 fiscal, the government had given taxpayers the option to choose a new tax regime under section 115BAC of the I-T Act.
This comes merely a day after the income tax department said a number of technical issues on the new ITR portal are being progressively addressed and 1.19 crore ITRs for 2020-21 fiscal year have been filed so far.
Giving updates of activities carried out by taxpayers on the portal, the I-T department said over 8.83 crore unique taxpayers have logged into the portal till 7 September, 2021 with a daily average of over 15.55 lakh in September. The Income Tax Return (ITR) filing has increased to 3.2 lakh daily in September 2021.
"A number of technical issues are being progressively addressed and there has been a positive trend reflected in the statistics of the various filings on the portal.... 1.19 crore ITRs for AY 2021-22 have been filed. "Of these, over 76.2 lakh taxpayers have used the online utility of the portal to file the returns," the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.
The new e-filing portal, www.incometax.gov.in, was launched on 7 June. It had a bumpy start since the day of its launch with taxpayers and professionals reporting glitches and difficulties.
"The Ministry of Finance has been regularly monitoring the resolution of issues with Infosys Ltd," the statement added. Infosys was in 2019 given the contract to develop the portal. "It is encouraging to note that over 94.88 lakh ITRs have also been e-verified, which is necessary for processing by the Centralized Processing Center. Of this, 7.07 lakh ITRs have been processed," it added. Taxpayers have been able to view over 8.74 lakh notices issued by the department under the faceless assessment / appeal/ penalty proceedings, to which over 2.61 lakh responses have been filed.
An average of 8,285 notices for e-proceedings are being issued and 5,889 responses are being filed in September 2021 on a daily basis. Over 10.60 lakh statutory forms have been submitted, including 7.86 lakh TDS statements, 1.03 lakh Form 10A for registration of trusts /institutions, 0.87 lakh Form 10E for arrears of salary and 0.10 lakh Form 35 for appeal.
Aadhaar- PAN linking has been done by 66.44 lakh taxpayers and over 14.59 lakh e-PANs have been allotted. These two facilities are being availed of by over 0.50 lakh taxpayers on a daily basis in September 2021. "It is reiterated that the Department is continuously engaged with Infosys to ensure a smooth filing experience to taxpayers," the CBDT added.
The finance ministry had on 23 August "summoned" Infosys CEO Salil Parekh to explain why issues continued to plague the portal developed by the software major.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in the meeting with Parekh, expressed "deep disappointment" over glitches persisting for more than two months after launch and gave him time till 15 September to resolve all issues. Between January 2019 to June 2021, the government has paid Rs 164.5 crore to Infosys for developing the portal.
With inputs from PTI
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It's common for people to make mistakes or provide incorrect information about their income when filing their tax returns. That's why it's highly recommended to compare the income you declared in your tax return with the details mentioned in Form 26AS.
Income Tax Refund: Easy steps to check your ITR status and get money back
The income tax refund process is quite simple. After you file your tax returns and confirm them electronically or by sending a physical copy of the ITR-V acknowledgement, the refund process begins.