The Central government has clarified that there is no plan to extend the due date for filing Income Tax Return for the Assessment Year 2022-23, amid the rising demand for an extension of the deadline beyond July 31. Extending Due Date Immediately was trending over the weekend on Twitter as many taxpayers appealed to the government to extend the deadline.
Many chartered accountants sought an extension of the due date citing the slow loading of the e-filing portal and the delay in the availability of a few documents like Form 16.
On July 23, the All India Federation of Tax Practitioners (AIFTP), an association of advocates, chartered accountants and tax practitioners, made representation before the finance ministry and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) seeking an extension of the deadline beyond July 31. The largest body of tax professionals in the country requested at least one month’s extension for individual taxpayers where an audit is not required.
With only 2.3 crore income tax returns filed till July 20, the last few days are seeing an increasing number of taxpayers scrambling to file their returns. Not filing the income tax returns by July 31 can lead to penalty charges up to Rs 5,000.
Many tax professionals and taxpayers have taken to social media platforms like Twitter to make light of the situation. Many users shared memes to take a dig at the Income Tax Department highlighting the technical glitches on the e-filing portal.
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A user shared a meme highlighting the double standard of the government where it would allow extension of deadline for audited accounts later, but the extension is being denied to individual taxpayers.
Another user said that even those who are not filing ITR are also worried about the deadline not getting extended.
A third user, who claims to be a chartered accountant, highlighted the anomalies on the Annual Information Statement system that carries a consolidated record of incomes of taxpayers.
A few others also highlight the technical issues with the e-portal. A user tweeted about not being able to generate Aadhaar OTP on the e-filing portal.
Tax professionals have been facing technical issues with the new income tax portal since it was launched on 20 May 2021. However, the government expects around 1 crore ITR filings on July 31. Last year, over 50 lakh ITRs were filed on the last day of the deadline.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
