Taxpayers are keen to learn if the Ministry of Finance would extend the due date for filing the Income Tax Returns (ITRs) this year. When questioned about the possibility of extending the deadline in light of the floods and heavy rains in North India, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra said, “The Union finance ministry is not planning to extend the deadline for filing of income tax returns. There is no proposal under consideration and we don’t intend to. My advice to all taxpayers is that they should file their tax returns. There will not be any extension in the deadline like last year and the earlier they do it the better.”
The deadline for submitting ITRs for the fiscal year 2022-23 is July 31, 2023. “By July 12, over 10 million more tax returns had been filed compared to the same period last year. About 22 million returns had been filed as against 11.8 million by July 12, 2022. So, there does not seem to be any reason to extend the deadline,” added Malhotra.
As of July 13th, there were 23.4 million ITRs filed for Assessment Year 2023-24 (fiscal year 2022-23), out of which 21.7 million returns had been verified. Additionally, a total of 8.48 million verified ITRs for Assessment Year 2023-24 had been processed.
Although the return filing process has generally been smooth, there have been appeals for a deadline extension of at least one month due to the recent floods. It is worth noting that the deadline for filing goods and services tax (GST) returns also coincides with July 31 this year. Failure to file income tax returns within the specified deadline can result in a penalty of up to ₹5,000.
