Income Tax Returns Filing Deadline Extended By One Month

In order to provide more time to taxpayers for furnishing of Income Tax Returns, the Finance Ministry in a statement said that it has been decided to further extend the due date for furnishing of Income-Tax Returns for different categories of taxpayers.

The Finance Ministry in a statement said that in order to provide more time to taxpayers for furnishing of Income Tax Returns, it has been decided to further extend the due date for furnishing of ITR as under:

• The due date for furnishing of Income Tax Returns for the taxpayers (including their partners) who are required to get their accounts audited has been extended to 31 January 2021 from 31 October 2020.
• The due date for furnishing of ITR for the taxpayers who are required to furnish a report in respect of international/specified domestic transactions has also been extended to 31 January 2021 from 30 November 2020.
• The due date for furnishing of ITR for the other taxpayers has been extended to 31 December 2020, instead of 31 July 2020.

Consequently, the date for furnishing of various audit reports under the Act including tax audit report and report in respect of international/specified domestic transaction has also been extended to 31 December 2020, the ministry said.

Earlier, in light of COVID-19, the government had extended the due date for payment of self-assessment tax for the taxpayers whose self-assessment tax liability is up to Rs 1 lakh. Accordingly, the due date for payment of self-assessment tax for the taxpayers who are not required to get their accounts audited was extended from 31 July 2020 to 30 November 2020 and for the auditable cases, this due date was extended from 31 October 2020 to 30 November 2020.

"In order to provide relief for the second time to small and middle class taxpayers in the matter of payment of self-assessment tax, the due date for payment of self-assessment tax date is hereby again being extended. Accordingly, the due date for payment of self-assessment tax for taxpayers whose self-assessment tax liability is up to Rs. 1 lakh has been extended to 31st January, 2021 for the taxpayers mentioned in para 3(A) and para 3(B) and to 31st December, 2020 for the taxpayers mentioned in para 3(C)," the ministry said.

"The necessary notification in this regard shall be issued in due course," it added.