The government has extended the last date for filing income tax returns for assessment year 2019-20 by another two months till November 30, 2020, citing difficulties faced by taxpayers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This will provide relief to several taxpayers struggling to meet the September 30 deadline. The original deadline of March 31 for filing returns for income earned in the year 2018-19 had been earlier extended till the end of June and further extended till July 31.
‘On further consideration of genuine difficulties being faced by the taxpayers due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic’, the Central Board of Direct Taxes decided to extend the deadline to November 30, the Finance Ministry said in an order issued on Wednesday. The Ministry had received several representations about the hardships being faced by taxpayers due to the continued lockdown restrictions in several parts of the country.
The government had already extended the deadline for filing income tax returns for financial year 2019-20 to November 30, 2020.
GST returns
In a separate move, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) also extended the due date for furnishing annual returns in GSTR-9 and GSTR 9C for 2018-19 from September 30, 2020 to October 31, 2020.The CBIC said this had been decided after seeking due clearances from the Election Commission in view of the model code of conduct in place for the Bihar Assembly elections.
This was a much-awaited move for GST assessees who were struggling to finalise the GST annual returns and GST audit certification because of challenges due to the pandemic, said Abhishek Jain, tax partner, EY.
“While this one is sorted, businesses are also eyeing for a relaxation on the e-invoicing compliances by making it a voluntary one for a few months, which is slated for mandatory implementation from October 1,” Mr. Jain said.
Published - September 30, 2020 05:02 pm IST
