CBDT extends deadline for filing ITR return and submitting audit report.

The government extended the date for filing income tax returns for companies by one month to November 30.

Income Tax Department has extended the deadline for ITR filing for certain categories of taxpayers. This has brought great relief to the taxpayers/institutions falling in these categories and they have also been saved from paying heavy penalties due to delay.

According to the Income Tax Department, till September 5, about 6.98 crore individual taxpayers have filed ITR.

The Income Tax Department has extended the deadline for filing income tax returns for charitable trusts, religious institutions and professional bodies by one month to November 30. The Income Tax Department said in a statement that the due date for filing income tax return in Form ITR-7 for the assessment year 2023-24, which is 31 October 2023, has been extended to 30 November 2023.

Also, the due date for submission of audit report for 2022-23 by any fund, trust, institution or any university or educational institution or medical institution in Form 10B/10BB has been extended by one month to 31 October 2023. Earlier the last date for submission of audit report was 30 September.

ITR-7 is filed by institutions involved in charitable and religious activities, research institutes, professional bodies, political parties and electoral trusts also file tax returns through ITR-7.

The Finance Ministry said in a statement on Monday, the deadline for filing income tax return in Form ITR-7 for the assessment year 2023-24 has been extended from October 31, 2023 to November 30, 2023.

In the current financial year, till mid-September, net direct tax collection has increased by 23.51% to Rs 8.65 lakh crore. The Finance Ministry said that there has been a huge increase in direct tax collection due to more advance tax payment by the companies. During this period, advance tax payment has increased by 21%.

According to the data, net tax collection has been 47.45% of the budget estimate of Rs 18.23 lakh crore for the current financial year. In the last financial year 2022-23, direct tax collection was Rs 16.61 lakh crore.

CBDT Circular: https://incometaxindia.gov.in/pages/communications/index.aspx

Amnesty Scheme for LLPS – MCA issues circular condoning delay in filing Form 3, 4 and 11

This scheme aims to grant a condonation of delay to LLPs regarding the filing of Form-3, Form-4, and Form-11 from September 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023.
This scheme aims to grant a condonation of delay to LLPs for filing of Form-3, Form-4, and Form-11 from September 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Amnesty Scheme. The ministry vide circular number No. 8/2023 issued on 23rd August 2023 condoning the delay in filing of Form-3, Form-4 and Form-11 under Section 67 of Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, 2008 read with Section 460 of Companies Act, 2013.

These forms shall be available for filing from 01.09.2023 onwards till 30.11.2023 (both dates inclusive). Also, the LLPs availing the scheme shall not be liable for any action for delayed filing of the Form-3, Form-4 and Form-11.

Based on the representations received by the government that certain LLPs are finding difficulties in filing Form- 3 (LLP Agreement and changes therein), Form- 4 (Notice of appointment, cessation, change in name/ address/designation of a designated partner or partner and consent to become a partner/ designated partner) and Form- 11 (Annual Return of LLP) for various reasons including due to mismatch in the  master data in electronic registry of the Ministry.

Due to this, the records/data in the electronic registry are also not being updated. Thus, to address these issues, the government has decided to grant one-time relaxation in additional fees to those LLPs who could not file the Form 3, 4 and 11 within the due date and provide an opportunity to update their filings and details in master data for future compliances.

The following are highlights of Amnesty Scheme:

  • The Form-3 and Form-4 would be processed under Straight Through Process (STP) mode for all purposes except for change in business activities.
  • The stakeholders are advised to file these forms in sequential manner i.e., the filing for old events date may be filed first and so on so as to update the master data in proper manner.
  • At the time of filing these forms, the pre-filled data as per existing master data of the LLP shall be provided in each of above mentioned forms but the same shall have the facility to edit. The onus of filing correct data would be on the stakeholders.
  • In case of misrepresentation, the Designated Partner and the professional certifying the form may be liable for adverse action as per provisions of the law.
  • The filing of Form-3 and Form-4 without additional fee shall be applicable for the event dates 01.01.2021 and onwards.
  • For events dated prior to 01.01.2021, these forms can be filed with 02 times and 04 times of normal filing fees as additional fee for small LLPs and Other than small LLPs respectively.
  • The filing of Form-II without additional fee shall be applicable for the financial year 2021-22 onwards.
  • Form-II for previous years (prior to financial year 2021-22) can be filed with 02 times and 04 times of normal filing fee as additional fee for small LLPs and Other than small LLPs respectively.
  • These forms shall be available for filing from 01.09.2023 onwards till 30.11.2023 (both dates inclusive). The LLPs availing the scheme shall not be liable for any action for delayed filing of the Form-3, Form-4 and Form-11.

Source: General-Circular-No-08-20230823

MCA amends strike-off rules – Mandatory filing of overdue Financial Statements, before striking-off of companies

Strike Off of Companies
A company cannot file a strike-off application unless it has filed overdue financial statements and overdue annual returns.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified an amendment to the Companies (Removal of Names of Companies from the Register of Companies) Rules, 2016.

The amendment provides more clarity on the filing requirements of overdue financials before applying for strike-off.

As per the amended norms, a company cannot file a strike-off application unless it has filed overdue financial statements under section 137 and overdue annual returns under section 92, up to the end of the financial year in which the company ceased to carry out its business operations.

Previously, the MCA had removed the requirement for up-to-date financial results and annual returns, vide the amendment introducing the Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit.

However, this requirement has now been reintroduced. The present amendment shall be effective from 10.05.2023.

Annual Filing (i.e. AOC-4 and MGT-7) is required to be filed before applying for Strike off.

As per the amendment made in rule 4 in May 2019 and amendment made on May 2023 “no application in Form No. STK-2 shall be filed by a company unless it has filed overdue returns in Form No. AOC-4 (Financial Statement) or AOC-4 XBRL, as the case may be, and Form No. MGT-7 (Annual Return), up to the end of the financial year in which the company ceased to carry its business operations”

Therefore, after amendment in Rule 4 w.e.f. 08th May, 2019 read with notification dated 10th May 2023, annual filing of AOC-4 and MGT-7 is mandatory up to the end of the financial year in which the company ceased to carry its business operations. In other words, Company is required to file AOC-4 and MGT-7 up to financial year till company carries its business and operations.

MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 10th May, 2023

G.S.R. 354(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sections (1), (2) and (4) of section 248 read with section 469 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Companies (Removal of Names of Companies from the Register of Companies) Rules, 2016, namely:-

  1. Short title and commencement.- (1) These rules may be called the Companies (Removal of Names of Companies from the Register of Companies) Second Amendment Rules, 2023.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

  1. In the Companies (Removal of Names of Companies from the Register of Companies) Rules, 2016 (hereafter referred to as the principal rules), in rule 4, in sub-rule (1), the following provisos shall be inserted, namely: –

“Provided that the company shall not file an application unless it has filed overdue financial statements under section 137 and overdue annual returns under section 92, up to the end of the financial year in which the company ceased to carry its business operations:

Provided further that in case a company intends to file the application after the action under subsection (1) of section 248 has been initiated by the Registrar, it shall file all pending financial statements under section 137 and all pending annual returns under section 92, before filing the application:

Provided also that once notice under sub-section (5) of section 248 has been issued by the Registrar for publication pursuant to the action initiated under sub-section (1) of section 248, a company shall not be allowed to file the application under this sub-rule.”.

[F. No. 1/28/2013-CL-V(Part-III)]

MANOJ PANDEY, Jt. Secy.

Note: The principal rules were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3 of Subsection (i), vide number G.S.R. 1174(E), dated the 26th December, 2016 and amended, vide Notification numbers G.S.R 355(E), dated the 12th April, 2017, G.S.R 350(E), dated the 8th May, 2019, G.S.R 420(E), dated the 29th June, 2020, G.S.R. 436(E), dated the 9th June, 2022 G.S.R. 658(E), dated the 24th August, 2022 and G.S.R. 298(E), dated 17th April, 2023.

ITR filing for AY 2023-24 starts. CBDT enables Excel Utilities for ITR-1, ITR-4

ITR filing for AY 2023-24 starts. CBDT enables Excel Utilities for ITR-1, ITR-4

For the assessment year 2023-24, the Income Tax Department has released an offline Excel-based utility for filing ITR-1 Sahaj and ITR-4 Sugam. The utility is available for download from the official Income Tax Department website. Because the utility and forms may change from time to time, it is critical to check the official website for the most recent version/updates and instructions.

The Excel-based utility for filing ITR-1 Sahaj and ITR-4 Sugam for AY 2023-24 is available for download from the Income Tax Department’s website – Released on 25-Apr-2023 and updated on 05-May-2023. The utility – Excel & Java, facilitates to electronically file ITR-1 and ITR-4 forms.

 

The instructions, utilities, schemas and validation rules will be updated as and when there is a change after due approval from ITD (Income Tax Department)

 General Instructions for Returns:

  1. Select the Assessment Year
  2. Download and extract the zip file containing the utilities to the folder and open the utility
  3. System Requirements:  Excel Utilities:

 The instructions, utilities, schemas and validation rules will be updated as and when there is a change after due approval from ITD

Using the Excel Utility

When using the Excel utility, it is critical to use a compatible version of Excel that supports macros. Resident and Ordinarily Resident (ROR) individuals with a total income of up to Rs 50 lakh from salaries, one house property, and other sources are eligible for ITR-1 Sahaj. Individuals/HUFs/partnership firms (other than LLP) with a total income of less than Rs. 50 lakh can file the ITR-4 Sugam form.

Using Macros in Excel

It is necessary to enable macros in the Excel sheet before using the ITR utility. To enable macros in Excel, navigate to File > Options > Trust Centre > Trust Centre Settings > Macro Settings > Enable All Macro > Click ‘OK’. Only enable macros in Excel sheets from trusted sources. Some Excel utility worksheets may include a help.txt file that contains instructions on how to enable macros.

Common Technical Problems

Macro errors, login issues, XML validation errors, and offline utility issues are some of the most common technical issues encountered when using the ITR utility. If you encounter any technical difficulties while using the ITR utility, you can seek assistance from the Income Tax Department Helpdesk or Tax Professional.

ITR Utility Customer Service

If you require technical assistance with the ITR utility, please visit the Income Tax Department’s official website and check the FAQs section for offline ITR utility. The FAQs section answers frequently asked questions about the ITR utility and can assist in resolving some technical issues. You can also get help from the Income Tax Department by calling their toll-free number or emailing them.

Conclusion

Filing ITR-1 Sahaj and ITR-4 Sugam using the Income Tax Department’s Excel utility can help to simplify the tax filing process. You can effectively file your taxes by downloading the utility, enabling macros in Excel, and understanding the requirements for using the utility. If you run into any technical difficulties or require assistance, the Income Tax Department and tax professionals are here to help.

Source: Income Tax Portal