The due date for filing income tax returns for taxpayers (including their partners) who must audit their accounts has been extended until January 31, 2021, the tax department said in a statement.
He said the due date for filing returns for taxpayers who must file reports linked to specific international / national transactions has also been extended to January 31, 2021.
Shortly after the lockdown was announced in March, the government had provided compliance relief to taxpayers by extending various time limits. In light of the challenges taxpayers face in meeting statutory and regulatory compliance due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the government introduced the Tax and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020 on March 31, which extended various time limits. Since then, the ordinance has been superseded by the Tax Act and other laws (relaxation and amendment of certain provisions).
The government had issued a notice on June 24 under the ordinance that extended the due date for all income tax returns for the 2019-20 fiscal year (2020-21 fiscal year) to November 30. Therefore, the income statements that had to be filed by July 31 and October 31 had to be filed before November 30. The tax department said the deadline has been extended to give taxpayers more time to file tax returns.
In order to provide second-time relief to small and middle class taxpayers from paying the self-assessment tax, the due date has been extended. The deadline for the payment of the self-assessment tax for taxpayers whose self-assessment tax liability is up to Rs 1 lakh has been extended to January 31, 2021 for a certain category of taxpayers mentioned and until December 31 for the other category of taxpayers mentioned, the statement said.
The government has also decided to extend the filing date of the annual returns (FORM GSTR-9 / GSTR-9A) and the reconciliation statement (FORM GSTR-9C) for fiscal year 2018-19 from October 31 to December 31 . Notifications to give The effect of this decision would continue, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance. The filing of annual returns (FORM GSTR-9 / GSTR-9A) for 2018-19 is optional for taxpayers who had aggregate turnover below Rs 2 crore. Filing of reconciliation statement on FORM 9C for 2018-19 is also optional for taxpayers who have total billing up to Rs 5 crore.
The deadline has been extended as the government has been receiving representations for the extension of the date to file annual returns (FORM GSTR-9) and conciliation statement (FORM GSTR-9C) for 2018-19 on the grounds that due to the Covid-19 blockade and restrictions related to the pandemic, the normal operation of companies has not yet been possible.
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