A top official on Sunday said that the deadline for filing income tax return or ITRs for the financial year 2016-17 will not be extended beyond July 31, 2017. The official said, "The last date for filing of ITRs remains 31 July. There are no plans to extend this deadline. The department has already received over 2 crore returns filed electronically. The department requests taxpayers to file their return in time".

Apart from some interruptions due to maintenance of the income tax e-filing website, the official denied any major glitches in the system. With effect from July 1, linking of PAN and Aadhaar has been made mandatory for filing tax returns. In the ITRs, the department has also asked individuals to declare cash deposits in bank accounts of Rs. 2 lakh or more in the wake of demonetisation from the period November 9, 2016- December 30, 2016.

The deadline of July 31 for ITR filing is for returns to be filed for the financial year 2016-17 or assessment year 2017-18.

As a constant reminder, the Income Tax department in the last few days has issued ads in leading business dailies which stated that taxpayers should make proper disclosure of their income and file return on or before July 31, 2017.

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