ITR filing deadline for FY 2020-21 extended to December 31, 2021

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• This is the second time this financial year the government has extended the deadline of filing ITR for individuals whose accounts are not required to be audited. • The ITR filing deadline has been extended due to the many technical issues related to the government's newly launched tax filing portal. • The deadline of filing belated/revised ITR has been extended by two months to March 31, 2022.
• This is the second time this financial year the government has extended the deadline of filing ITR for individuals whose accounts are not required to be audited. • The ITR filing deadline has been extended due to the many technical issues related to the government’s newly launched tax filing portal. • The deadline of filing belated/revised ITR has been extended by two months to March 31, 2022.

The government on Thursday extended the deadline to file income tax return (ITR) for FY 2020-21 by 3 months to December 31, 2021 from September 30, 2021. The extension of the deadline is for those individuals whose accounts are not required to be audited and who usually file their income tax return using ITR-1 or ITR-4 forms, as applicable.

In a statement, the Finance Ministry said that the decision has been on consideration of difficulties reported by the taxpayers and other stakeholders in filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22 under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The income tax return (ITR) filing deadline for FY 2020-21 for individuals has already been extended, from the normal deadline of July 31, 2021. However, the new income tax e-filing portal has been marred by glitches and other problems from inception. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has given Infosys, the company which set up the new income tax portal, time till September 15, 2021 to fix all the problems.

Last year too, the government has extended the due date of filing ITR for individuals four times – first from July 31 to November 30, 2020, then to December 31, 2020, and finally to January 10, 2021.

“On consideration of difficulties reported by the taxpayers in filing of Income Tax Returns(ITRs) & Audit reports for AY 2021-22 under the ITAct, 1961, CBDT further extends the due dates for filing of ITRs & Audit reports for AY 21-22. Circular No.17/2021 dated 09.09.2021 issued,” I-T Department tweeted on Thursday.

The due date of furnishing of report of audit under any provision of the Act for the previous year 2020-21, has been extended to January 15, 2022.

The due date of furnishing report from an accountant by persons entering into international transaction or specified domestic transaction under section 92E of the Act for the previous year 2020-21, is now January 31, 2022.

Again, the IT Department has decided to extend the due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the AY 2021-22, to February 15, 2022, among several other extensions.

The due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, which was December 31, 2021 has also been extended to February 28, 2022.

The due date of furnishing of belated or revised return of Income for the AY 2021-22 has been further extended to March 31, 2022.

Missing the ITR filing deadline would have had penal consequences. A late filing fee of Rs 5,000 would be levied if the ITR is filed by an individual after the expiry of the deadline.

Do keep in mind that government has also extended the deadline of filing belated ITR by one month from new deadline of December 31, 2021, to January 31, 2022. If the ITR is not filed by January 31, 2022, then the individual will not be able to file ITR for FY 2020-21, unless a notice is issued by the income tax department.

A late filing fee of Rs 5,000 along with penal interest at the rate of 1 per cent per month will be levied on the non-payment of tax dues in this case.

CBDT Circular dated 09 September 2021

CBDT extends Due Date for filing various Income Tax Forms

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The tax filing due dates were extended by the CBDT in view of the difficulties being faced by taxpayers and other stakeholders in the electronic filing of these forms.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the due dates for electronic filing of various Forms under the Income-tax Act, 1961. Considering the difficulties reported by the taxpayers and other stakeholders in the electronic filing of certain Forms, CBDT has taken this step.
 
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued an order extending due dates for various compliance forms including the Quarterly statement in Form No. 15CC, Equalization Levy Statement in Form No.1, the Statement of Income paid or credited by an investment fund to its unit holder in Form No. 64D and the Statement of Income paid or credited by an investment fund to its unit holder in Form No. 64C.
 
(i) The Quarterly statement in Form No. 15CC to be furnished by an authorized dealer in respect of remittances made for the quarter ending on 30th June 2021 required to be furnished on or before 15th July 2021 under Rule 37BB of the Rules. as extended to 31° July 2021 vide Circular No 12 of 2021 dated 25.06.2021, may be filed on or before 31st August 2021.
 
(ii) The Equalization Levy Statement in Form No.1 for the Financial Year 2020- 21, which was required to be filed on or before 30. June 2021. as extended to 31s1July, 2021 vide Circular No 12 of 2021 dated 25 06.2021. maybe filed on or before 310 August 2021;
 
(iii) The Statement of Income paid or credited by an investment fund to its unit holder in Form No. 64D for the Previous Year 2020-21, required to be furnished on or before 15. June 2021 under Rule 12CB of the Rules, as extended to 151″ July 2021 vide Circular No.12 of 2021 dated 25.06 2021, maybe furnished on or before 15. September,2021;
 
(iv) The Statement of Income paid or credited by an investment fund to its unit holder in Form No. 64C for the Previous Year 2020-21, required to be furnished on or before 30. June 2021 under Rule 12CB of the Rules, as extended to 3f” July 2021 vide Circular No.12 of 2021 dated 25.06.2021, maybe furnished on or before 30. September 2021.
 
Further, considering the non-availability of the utility for e-filing of certain Forms, the Board has extended the due dates for electronic filing of such Forms as (i) Intimation to be made by a Pension Fund in respect of each investment made by it in India in Form No. 10BBB for the quarter ending on 300 June 2021, required to be furnished on or before 311July,2021 under Rule 2DB of the Rules, may be furnished on or before 30° September 2021, and (ii) Intimation to be made by Sovereign Wealth Fund in respect of investments made by it in India in Form II SWF for the quarter ending on 30° June 2021, required to be furnished on or before 31st July 2021 as per Circular No 15 of 2020 dated 22.07.2020 may be furnished on or before 30° September 2021.

 

The Board has clarified that “the above said forms, e-filed, after the expiry of time limits provided as per Circular No. 2 of 2021 dated 25.06.2021 or as per the relevant provisions, till date will stand regularized accordingly.”

 

Source: CBDT Circular

Launch of new Income Tax Return Filing Portal 2.0: What’s New

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From pre-filled income tax return forms to quick refunds — the new portal has a tons of features to make your tax filing journey easy and convenient.
From pre-filled income tax return forms to quick refunds — the new portal has a tons of features to make tax filing journey easy and convenient.

The tax department has launched the much-awaited new portal of filing income tax return (ITR) — www.incometax.gov.in — on Monday night.

The new e-filing portal (www.incometax.gov.in) is aimed at providing taxpayer convenience and a modern, seamless experience to taxpayers;

New taxpayer friendly portal integrated with immediate processing of Income Tax Returns(ITRs) to issue quick refunds to taxpayers;

All interactions and uploads or pending actions will be displayed on a single dashboard for follow-up action by taxpayer;

Free of cost ITR preparation software available online and offline with interactive questions to help taxpayers fill ITR even without any tax knowledge, with pre-filling, for minimizing data entry effort;

New call center for taxpayer assistance for immediate answers to taxpayer queries with FAQs, Tutorials, Videos and chatbot/live agent;

All key portal functions on desktop will be available on Mobile App which will be enabled subsequently for full anytime access on mobile network;

New online tax payment system on new portal will be enabled subsequently with multiple new payment options using net-banking, UPI, Credit Card and RTGS/NEFT from any account of taxpayer in any bank, for easy payment of taxes.

From pre-filled income tax return forms to quick refunds — the new portal has a tons of features to make your tax filing journey easy and convenient. The aim is to provide a “modern and seamless experience to taxpayers”.

The initiative of the Income Tax department to make the tax portal tax payer friendly and more easy to navigate is applaudable. The videos, FAQ and various tutorials and the ITR preparation software to ease the discomfort of new tax payers who may not be computer savvy is a good start. While its early to comment on the ease of use for which one needs to access the portal, the portal does indicate issuance of quicker tax return processing and faster refunds, which is a welcome step.

The latest features of the new income tax filing portal www.incometax.gov.in are listed below:

1) The new portal will process the the income tax returns immediately, said the Central Board of Direct Taxes. This will help the taxpayers to get the quick refunds of their income tax returns.

2) There will be a single dashboard for all the interactions and pending return. The taxpayers can easily see all their interactions together in a place. This will make following up of pending notices easier and convenient.

3) The taxpayers will get a free interactive software which will guide them to file ITR forms. Now, ITRs 1, 4 (online and offline) and ITR 2 (offline) will be available. “Facility for preparation of ITRs 3, 5, 6, 7 will be made available shortly,” CBDT said.

4) The option of pre-filled ITR forms will be available on the new website. “Taxpayers will be able to proactively update their profile to provide certain details of income including salary, house property, business or profession which will be used in pre-filling their ITR,” the Ministry of Finance said.

5) To answer all your queries while filing ITR forms, there will be call centre for prompt assistance. A chatbot will also be available to help the taxpayer filing their returns along with detailed manual, videos and FAQs.

6) The other functionalities for filing income tax forms, adding tax professionals, submitting responses to notices in faceless scrutiny or appeals will be available on the new e-filing portal.

7) It must be noted that the new tax payment system will be launched on June 18 after the advance tax instalment date, the ministry of finance said.

8) Given the new portal launching and advance tax payment due date falling on June 15, to avoid any inconvenience in the tax payment process to the taxpayer, this will be launched on June 18 2021. However, for all other features/functionalities, the website can be used as soon as launched. Users can still make payment through existing process and file their tax returns on the new portal.

9)  “The mobile app will also be released subsequent to the initial launch of the portal, to enable taxpayers to get familiar with the various features,” it further added.

10) Taxpayers and other stakeholders will take some time to familiarize with the various features of new portal. The tax department urged all to remain patient for the initial period after the launch as it will be a major transition in the tax filing system.

Source: www.incometax.gov.in

Belated and Revised ITR Filing Date extended for AY 2020-21 to 31st May 2021 due to COVID-19

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COVID -19 relief for taxpayers.
Last chance to revise ITR for financial year 2019-20

In view of the adverse circumstances arising due to the severe Covid-19 pandemic and also in view of the several requests received from taxpayers, tax consultants & other stakeholders from across the country, requesting that various compliance dates may be relaxed, the Government has extended certain timelines on Saturday.

In the light of multiple representations received (supra) and to mitigate the difficulties being faced by various stakeholders, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has, under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961(the Act), provided the following relaxation in respect of compliances by the taxpayers:

a) Appeal to Commissioner (Appeals) under Chapter XX of the Act, for which the last date of filing under that Section is 1st April, 2021 or thereafter, may be filed within the time provided under that Section or by 31st May, 2021, whichever is later;

b) Objections to Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) under Section 144C of the Act, for which the last date of filing under that Section is 1st April, 2021 or thereafter, may be filed within the time provided under that Section or by 31st May, 2021, whichever is later;

c) Income-tax return in response to notice under Section 148 of the Act, for which the last date of filing of return of income under the said notice is 1st April, 2021 or thereafter, may be filed within the time allowed under that notice or by 31st May, 2021, whichever is later;

d) Filing of belated return under sub-section (4) and revised return under sub-section (5) of Section 139 of the Act, for Assessment Year 2020-21, which was required to be filed on or before 31st March, 2021, may be filed on or before 31st May, 2021;

e) Payment of tax deducted under Section 194-IA, Section 194-IB and Section 194M of the Act, and filing of challan-cum-statement for such tax deducted, which are required to be paid and furnished by 30th April, 2021(respectively) under Rule 30 of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, may be paid and furnished on or before 31st May, 2021;

f) Statement in Form No. 61, containing particulars of declarations received in Form No.60, which is due to be furnished on or before 30th April, 2021, may be furnished on or before 31st May, 2021.

The above relaxations are the latest among the recent initiatives taken by the Government to ease compliances to be made by the taxpayers with the aim to grant respite during these difficult times.

Read CBDT Circular dated 30 April, 2021

Key changes in new ITR forms for AY 2021-22

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Only the bare minimum changes necessitated due to amendments in the Income-tax Act, 1961 have been incorporated in the forms, CBDT said in the notification for the new ITR forms, in view of the ongoing crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Keeping minimum change and with the view to minimise compliance burden, The Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) has notified new income tax return forms — ITR-1 to ITR-7,  for the Assessment Year 2021-22, the ministry of finance said in a statement on April 1.  

In this new ITR form for AY 2021-22, the taxpayers will now have dedicated space in each of the ITR forms — Sahaj (ITR-1), Form ITR-2, Form ITR-3, Form ITR-4 (Sugam), Form ITR-5, Form ITR-6, Form ITR-7 and Form ITR-V to describe their investments, CBDT said. 

ITR Form 1 (Sahaj) and ITR Form 4 (Sugam) are simpler Forms that cater to a large number of small and medium taxpayers. Sahaj can be filed by an individual having income up to Rs 50 lakh and who receives income from salary, one house property / other sources (interest etc). 

Similarly, Sugam can be filed by individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) and firms (other than Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) having total income up to Rs 50 lakh and income from business and profession computed under the presumptive taxation provisions. 

Individuals and HUFs not having income from business or profession (and not eligible for filing Sahaj) can file ITR-2, while those having income from business or profession can file ITR Form 3. 

Persons other than individual, HUF and companies i.e. partnership firm, LLP etc can file ITR Form 5. Companies can file ITR Form 6. Trusts, political parties, charitable institutions etc claiming exempt income under the Act can file ITR-7. 

There is no change in the manner of filing of ITR forms as compared to last year, the CBDT said. 

Key points :

♦ ITR-1 cannot be filed in case tax has been deducted u/s 194N

As per, Section 194N – TDS 194N is required to be deducted if amount of cash withdrawn exceeds –

  • Exceeds Rs 20 lakhs in case of non-filers of return
  • Rs 1 crore in all other cases

from banking company or co-operative bank or post-office from one or more accounts maintained by taxpayer.

If tax has been deducted u/s 194N, a person can file –

  • ITR 2
  • ITR 3
  • ITR 4

♦ TDS deducted u/s 194N cannot be carried forward to subsequent years.

It means Credit for tax deducted u/s 194N can be taken in previous year relevant to Assessment year in which tax has been deducted.

♦ Option has been given to Individual or HUF as per Section 115BAC.

From A.Y 2021-22 option is available to Individual & HUF whether to opt New Scheme or not. This option for lower tax regime, by foregoing certain exemptions and deductions, is given to Assessees to select new scheme-Section 115BAC and are required to file Form-10IE before filing the return u/s 139(1).

♦ Change in Schedule 112A-LTCG from sale of equity share or unit of equity oriented fund on which STT is paid.

Sale price per share/unit now added in Schedule 112A, which was not earlier provided.

♦ Dividend also taxable from A.Y 2021-22- As we know Dividend Income taxable from A.Y 2021-22 in hands of Assessee from A.Y 2021-22 so we are required to give quarterly break-up of Dividend received in order to get relief from interest levied u/s 234C.

♦ Changes in Section 44AB- The threshold limit to get books of account audited increased from Rs 1 crore to 10 crores, if the following conditions are satisfied-

  1. His aggregate of all receipts in cash during the previous year does not exceeds 5 % of such receipts.
  2. His aggregate of all payments in cash during the previous year does not exceeds 5 % of such payments

Due date for filing income tax returns further extended

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The reduced TDS and TCS rate will be for specific payments such as payment for a contract, professional fees, interest, rent etc.
Income tax return filing due date: ITR FOR COMPANIES:- Deadline for filing income tax return for 2019-20 by companies extended by 15 days to Feb 15, 2021and for individuals by 10 days to Jan 10, 2021

In a major development, Income Tax department has extended the deadline for ITR filings. The deadline for filing income tax return for 2019-20 by companies extended by 15 days to Feb 15, 2021. Further, the deadline for filing income tax returns by individuals extended by 10 days to January 10, 2021. Also, the last date to declare under Vivad se Vishwas Scheme extended to 31st January 2021, it was expiring on December 31st.

Deadline for filing income tax return for 2019-20 by companies extended by 15 days to Feb 15, 2021 & deadline for filing income tax returns by individuals extended by 10 days to Jan 10, 2021

Taking to Twitter, Income Tax Department said, “In view of the continued challenges faced by taxpayers in meeting statutory compliances due to outbreak of COVID-19, the Govt further extends the dates for various compliances. Press release on extension of time limits issued today:”

Earlier, direct tax professionals had sought extension for tax audit report, income tax returns for audit cases and time limit for AGMs in the wake of the ongoing pandemic scenario. The Direct Taxes Professionals Association (DTPA) had urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for extension of date of furnishing of tax audit report under section 44AB to February 28 and the due date of filing of income tax returns of assessment year 2020-21 in audit cases to March, 31, 2021.

Meanwhile, the IT department on Wednesday said more than 4.54 crore tax returns for 2019-20 fiscal have been filed till December 29. In the comparable period last year, 4.77 crore income tax returns were filed. At the close of deadline for filing ITRs without payment of late fees for fiscal 2018-19 (assessment year (AY) 2019-20), over 5.65 crore returns were filed by taxpayers.

In a tweet on Wednesday, the Income Tax department nudged taxpayers to file their ITRs by the due date. “More than 4.54 crore Income Tax Returns for AY 2020-21 have already been filed till 29th of December, 2020,” the I-T department said.

The data released by the tax department showed that over 2.52 crore ITR-1 have been filed till December 29, 2020, lower than the 2.77 crore filed till August 29, 2019.

Over 1 crore ITR-4 have been filed till December 29 as compared to 99.50 lakh filed till August 29, 2019. An analysis of the data showed that individuals filing tax return for fiscal 2019-20 have slowed so far in the current year, while filings by businesses and trusts have increased.

Returns in ITR-1 Sahaj can be filed by an ordinarily resident individual whose total income does not exceed Rs 50 lakh, while form ITR-4 Sugam is meant for resident individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) and firms (other than LLP) having a total income of up to Rs 50 lakh and having presumptive income from business and profession.

Over 33.93 lakh ITR-2 (filed by people having income from residential property) were filed till December 29.

During last year, the due date for filing ITR by individuals who do not need to get their accounts audited was August 31. However, the date has been extended till December 31 this year on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ITR-5 (filed by LLP and Association of Persons) filings till December 29, 2020 jumped to 7.09 lakh from 4.14 lakh filed till August 29, 2019. ITR-6 (filed by businesses) filings skyrocketed to over 3.46 lakh till December 29, 2020 as compared to 21,962 filed till August 29, 2019.

ITR-7 (filed by persons having income derived from property held under trust) filings also jumped to over 1.04 lakh till December 29, 2020 as compared to 41,963 till August 29 last year.

Earlier, for the FY 2019-20, the government had also extended the date for making various investment/ payment for claiming deduction under Chapter-VIA-B of the IT Act which includes section 80C (LIC, PPF, NSC etc.), 80D (Mediclaim), 80G (Donations) to 31st July, 2020. Now the investment/ payment can be made upto 31st July, 2020 for claiming the deduction under these sections for FY 2019-20. In the income tax forms, Schedule DI enables taxpayers to claim exemptions on investments they made during the extended period, until June 30, 2020.

Under normal circumstances, the last date to take income tax benefits is till March 31 of the financial year. The government had also extended the last date for the issuance of Form 16 by employers to their employees. In fact, the extension has been given for all TDS ( tax deducted at source) certificates, including Form 16. The CBDT has already notified the Income Tax Return Forms for the assessment year (AY) 2020-21 and are available for e-Filing by downloading either excel or Java utility.

Source: Press Release from Ministry of Finance