Government extends deadline for filing ITRs to December 31

After taxpayers complained of difficulties filling these forms electronically, the Finance Ministry on Sunday extended the deadlines for e-filing different forms under the Income-Tax Act, 1961.

The income tax department extended the deadline for filing income tax returns (ITR) for the fiscal year 2020-21 to December 31 on Thursday. The deadline was previously extended to September 31 for individuals and November 30 for businesses, owing to the difficulties people have suffered from the Covid-19 epidemic.

The tax department stated in a tweet that "On consideration of difficulties reported by the taxpayers in the filing of ITR's and audit reports for AY 2021-22 under the IT Act, 1961, CBDT further extends the due dates for filing of ITSs and audit reports for AY 2021-22".

Users have been complaining about technological issues since the debut of the new tax system. According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), approximately 1.2 crore returns for the previous financial year have been filed, with over 76.2 lakh taxpayers utilizing the new portal's online utility for the purpose.