CBDT extends the timeline for filing Income Tax Returns and various Tax Audit Reports for Asst Year 2021-22

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CBDT has decided to further extend the due dates for filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, via Circular No. 01/2022 issued on 11th January 2021, has extended the timeline for filing of Income Tax Returns and various Reports of Audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22.
 
This has been done following the adverse impact of the 3rd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and difficulties faced by taxpayers and professionals.
 

Announcement from CBDT earlier today on extension of timelines for filing of tax returns and certain audit reports to 15 March and 15 February is a major relief considering the challenges faced by both the taxpayers and their advisors due to newer variant of virus and the glitches in the online portal. Timing of the announcement in particular avoids anxiety for all concerned.

Here is the list of  various ITR deadline for AY 2021-22 that have been extended

  1. The due date of furnishing of Report of Audit under any provision of the Act for the Previous Year 2020-21, which was 30thSeptember 2021, in the case of assessees referred in clause (a) of Explanation 2 to sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act, as extended to 31st October 2021 and 15th January 2022 by Circular No.9/2021 dated 20.05.2021 and Circular No.17/2021 dated 09.09.2021 respectively, is hereby further extended to 15th February, 2022;
  2. The due date of furnishing of Report of Audit under any provision of the Act for the Previous Year 2020-21, which was 31stOctober, 2021, in the case of assessees referred in clause (aa) of Explanation 2 to sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act, is hereby extended to 15th February, 2022;
  3. The due date of furnishing of 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, which was 31stOctober 2021, as extended to 30th November 2021 and 31st January 2022 by Circular No.9/2021 dated 20.05.2021 and Circular No.17/2021 dated 09.09.2021 respectively, is hereby further extended to 15th February, 2022;
  4. The due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, which was 31stOctober 2021 under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act, as extended to 30th November 2021 and 15th February 2022 by Circular No.9/2021 dated 20.05.2021 and Circular No.17/2021 dated 09.09.2021 respectively, is hereby further extended to 15th March, 2022;
  5. The due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, which was 30thNovember 2021 under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act, as extended to 31st December 2021 and 28th February 2022 by Circular No.9/2021 dated 20.05.2021 and Circular No.17/2021 dated 09.09.2021 respectively, is hereby further extended to 15th March, 2022.

Clarification 1: It is clarified that this extension shall not apply to Explanation 1 to section 234A of the Act, in cases where the amount of tax on the total income as reduced by the amount as specified in clauses (i) to (vi) of sub-section (1) of that section exceeds one lakh rupees.

Clarification 2: For the purpose of Clarification 1, in case of an individual resident in India referred to in sub-section (2) of section 207 of the Act, the tax paid by him under section 140A of the Act within the due date (without extension under Circular No.9/2021, Circular No.17/2021 and this Circular) provided in that Act, shall be deemed to be the advance tax.

Source: CBDT Circular

I-T department rolls out new Annual Information Statement – How AIS will be helpful in filing your tax returns

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The AIS captures information on almost all financial transactions done in the previous financial year. The idea is to give taxpayers a comprehensive statement on their transactions that they can refer to while filing their income tax returns

The income tax department (I-T dept) on Monday rolled out the new annual information statement (AIS) on the compliance portal. This annual statement provides a comprehensive view of information to a taxpayer and the facility to submit online feedback.

The new annual information statement (AIS) includes additional information linked to interest, dividend, securities transactions, mutual fund transactions, foreign remittance information and other such transactions.

The income tax department has clarified that till the new annual information statement is validated and is completely operational, Form 26AS will continue to be available on the TRACES portal. The tax department also added that the reported information has been processed to remove duplicate information.

If the taxpayer feels that the information is incorrect, relates to another person/year, duplicate or such other a facility has been provided to submit online feedback. “The taxpayers are requested to view the information shown in annual information statement (AIS) and provide feedback if the information needs modification,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said.

The new AIS can be accessed by clicking on the link ‘Annual Information Statement (AIS)’ under the ‘Services’ tab on the new Income tax e-filing portal (https://www.incometax.gov.in).

How AIS will be helpful?

AIS provides for a simplified taxpayer information summary (TIS) which shows the aggregated value for the taxpayer for the ease of filing returns.

If the taxpayer submits feedback on the annual information statement (AIS), the derived information in TIS will be automatically updated in real-time.

This derived information in taxpayer information summary (TIS) will be used for pre-filling of return which shall be implemented in a phased manner.

If the ITR has been filed but some information has not been included, the return may be revised to reflect the correct information as shown in TIS.

In case there is a variation, the taxpayer may rely on the information displayed on the TRACES portal for the purpose of filing of ITR.

In comparison to Form 26AS, AIS is a more comprehensive single reference document and can be modified by taxpayers if the information is incorrect.

Annual Information Statement (AIS) provides complete and detailed information related to interest, dividend, securities/ mutual funds transactions.

Source: Press Release dated 01-11-21

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