e-Filing Income Tax Returns – Date Extended till October 31st

e-Filing Income Tax Returns – Date Extended till October 31st – The tax payers base in the country is just over 4 crore. The government aims to collect Rs 7.98 lakh crore in direct taxes in the current financial year. The department through its portal has electronically verified over 32.95 lakh e-returns.

The government on Thursday extended due date for e-filing of all returns of income & audit reports till October 31, 2015. “Necessary order u/s 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 has been issued by CBDT in this regard,​” the release said.

The government said, “The issue of extension of last date for e-filing returns of income and audit reports u/s 44AB due by September 30, 2015 has been the subject matter of litigation in various High Courts across the country. While some High Courts have ruled in favour of the extension of due date, some others have ruled otherwise.  In order to avoid discrimination between taxpayers residing in different jurisdictions and to be fair to all, and also in view of paucity of time to approach the Hon’ble Supreme Court by way of Special Leave Petition (SLP), the Government has decided that across the country, all the returns of income and audit reports may now be filed by 31st October, 2015.”

The tax payers base in the country is just over 4 crore.  The government aims to collect Rs 7.98 lakh crore in direct taxes in the current financial year. The department through its portal has electronically verified over 32.95 lakh e-returns.

The new e-filing system, enabled last month, allows online verification of a person s Income Tax Returns (ITR) by using either Aadhaar number, internet banking, ATM or email, thereby ending the practice of sending paper acknowledgement to its office in Bengaluru.

Source: Businessline