Income Tax Return Deadline Extended: FY 2020-21 To December 31, 2021
The deadline has increased due to the problems of the new income tax portal
New Delhi : The government has again decided to extend the deadline for filing the Income Tax Return (ITR) for the FY 2020-21 by three months to December 31, 2021, from September 30, 2021.
The deadline has increased due to the problems of the new income tax portal that had made it very difficult for the outcome of taxpayers to conclude their ITR filing process.
This is the second time in this financial year, that the government has reached the deadline of filing ITR for individuals whose accounts are not required to be audited. Initially, due to the second wave of the Covid-19, the ITR filing deadline was extended by two months from the usual deadline of July 31 to September 30, 2021.
Observing the press release issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), "The due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, which was 31st July 2021 under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act, as extended to 30th September 2021 vide Circular No.9/2021 dated 20.05.2021, is hereby further extended to 31st December 2021."
Sujit Bangar, Ex-IRS officer and, founder, Taxbuddy.com, an ITR filing website says, "As we know, the original due date of July 31, 2021, stands extended to December 31, 2021. If tax liability to be paid is less than Rs 1 Lakh, then there won’t be interest u/s 234 A for ITR's being filed before Dec 31, 2021. The catch is that interest u/s 234A would be charged if the outstanding tax liability is Rs 1 lakh or more. It will be levied from August 1, 2021, onwards till the date of filing ITR. Therefore, it is advisable to compute tax working immediately even if ITR may be filed later. This may help us in saving interest."
Along with this, the government even extended the deadline to file delayed and/or updated ITR by two months from January 31, 2022, to March 31, 2022. "The due date of furnishing of belated/revised Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, which is 31st December 2021 under sub-section (4)/sub-section (5) of section 139 of the Act, as extended to 31st January 2022, wide Circular No.9/2021 dated 20.05.2021, is hereby further extended to 31st March 2022."