The last date of filing ITR and Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) for the fourth quarter of financial year 2020-21 has been extended to June 30, from the earlier May 31st.
CAIT has been negotiating with the government to give the traders relief in ITR filing as they have lost a lot of money because of the lockdown during the 2nd wave of Corona.
Puneet Singhal, IT Ambassador to CAIT and CEO, Pioneer-Enterprises, New Delhi, sent a message on behalf of CAIT, which read, "Friends, as informed you last week, with great persuasion of CAIT, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has issued 12 notifications yesterday for providing relief to traders for extension of various due dates under GST, late fee, interest and penalty etc. Thanks to FM Smt Nirmala Sitharaman for providing these reliefs . CAIT stands committed to raise issues of traders. Some other relief are also expected. Thanks for your cooperation. CAIT."
Earlier, Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary-General, CAIT & CEO, Fairdeal Group, sent a note to DQ Channels which read, "Corona Outbreak Has Caused Business Loss of 15 Lakhs Crores in 2 Months. " It further said, "The Corona virus second wave and the subsequent lockdowns by various states has caused a mammoth business loss to the tune of about Rs.15 lakh crore to India’s domestic trade over the last 60 days, according to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) which released the figures of the losses and also emphasised that for the first time traders across the country are contemplating to reduce the number of employees as they have been forced to cut down establishment expenses & overheads due to non affordability of the recurring monthly expenses. If it happens it will increase the unemployment figures particularly when the retail trade in India has been described as the only source of disguised employment and the only sector which provides exponential streams for self employment in India."
CAIT note further said, "Based on the estimated feedback gathered from CAIT chapters and leading trade associations in majority of states, the loss of internal trade and commerce due to Corona second wave for the Country stands at about 15 lakh crore, which is quite a huge and substantial loss as the total value of the domestic trade in the Country is estimated at 115 lakh crore per annum," said BC Bhartia, National President, CAIT andPraveen Khandelwal, Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT)."
According to CAIT note, "There are about 8 crores small businesses in the Country which are involved in trading activities employing about 40 crore people in direct employment and various other people who are dependent upon the trading community for earning of their livelihood."
CAIT note quoted Bhartia and Khandelwal saying that out of the total business loss of about Rs. 15 lakh crore, retail format has lost 9 lakh crore while the wholesale trade in the Country suffered a loss of about 6 lakh crore. It is estimated that Maharashtra suffered a business loss of about 1.50 lakh crore, Delhi a loss of about 40,000 crore, Gujarat about 75,000 crores, Uttar Pradesh about 85,000 crore, Madhya Pradesh about 45,000 crore, Rajasthan about 35,000 crores, Chhattisgarh about 27,000 cores, Karnataka about 70,000 crores, Tamil Nadu about 80,000 crore and likewise the other States have incurred substantial business loss during past two months. It is also noteworthy to mention that lakhs of people are conducting business activities in informal trade and they have also suffered a huge business loss on account of closure of shops and markets. Similarly, lakhs of skilled and semi-skilled workers, popularly known as " karigars" involved in multi tasking jobs for producing finished goods and supplying to traders have also been greatly affected due to the closure of shops and markets.
Both Bhartia and Khandelwal added that due to the severity of the financial crunch this time, traders across India are seriously contemplating releasing at least 30-40% of their workforce as they cannot afford to pay the salaries anymore. Whatever savings traders had, they consumed in last year’s lockdown and while the domestic trade of the Country was on the verge of recovery, the business was attacked by a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and precisely now the traders are largely eating their own capital. Bhartia and Khandelwal said that economic theories have taught us that "When you start eating the capital of your business, you must realise that your business is on the way to downfall and immediate preventive actions are needed". Therefore, the traders across the Country most unwillingly will have no option but to cut down the business expenses including downsizing the workforce.
CAIT note further said, "We appeal to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to come to the rescue of the business community and give us a substantial financial package to restore business activities post lockdown. We are not asking for any loan waiver but the support policies from both Central & State Government, temporary relaxations in statutory compliances and ease of restoring business," said both Bhartia & Khandelwal. However, while crafting such a package, the traders must be consulted, added the trade leaders. It is pertinent to note that in various packages announced by the Central Government last year during the lockdown period, not even a single rupee was allocated to the traders of the country though the traders across Country discharged their responsibilities by efficiently maintaining the supply of essential goods across the country even sustaining risk of getting infected with Corona."
It appears that the Central government has listened to the appeal of the traders body and has extended the ITR filing date as mentioned above. This extension of ITR filing date gives time to the IT MSMEs to reorganise their finance and comply with the ITR measures.
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