ITR filing deadline for companies extended

The finance ministry on Wednesday extended the deadline for the filing of income tax returns (ITRs) by companies from October 31 to November 7 for the assessment year 2022-23. The development comes days after the IT department extended the due date to file tax audits for the fiscal year 2021-22 by seven days due to technical glitch. These are the companies that are required to get audited for the current assessment year. 

The central board of direct taxes (CBDT) in a notification said that since the due dates for filing audit reports have been extended, the deadline to file ITR is also being extended as a consequence of it. 

“CBDT extends the due date for furnishing Income Tax Return for AY 2022-23 to 7th November 2022 for certain categories of assessees in consequence of the extension of due dates for filing various reports of the audit. Circular No. 20/2022 dated 26.10.2022 issued,” the CBDT said in a tweet. 

Meanwhile, on October 1, the CBDT in a notification said, “On consideration of difficulties faced by the taxpayers and other stakeholders in the filing of various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2022-23, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to extend the due date for filing of various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2022-23, which was September 30, 2022, to October 7, 2022.”

All taxpayers who need to get their accounts audited by a chartered accountant are required to submit/file a tax audit report by the IT department. On September 18, the All India Federation of Tax Practitioners (AIFTPs), which is an association of advocates, chartered accountants and tax practitioners, requested the Ministry of Finance and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for an extension for the filing of tax audit reports.

Notably, this is not the first time that taxpayers have been facing technical glitches while filing audit reports and ITRs. Earlier in June, the government had directed the country’s second-largest software services provider Infosys to fix the issue relating to the search functionality of the e-filing website. In August last year, the finance ministry summoned Infosys CEO to explain the continued glitches faced by taxpayers on the e-filing portal. After receiving several complaints from taxpayers, the government had to extend the due date for filing tax returns and related forms.

The ITR filing portal was launched on June 7 last year. Infosys had bagged the contract from the I-T department to develop the new e-filing portal in 2019. The government had approved the project with a total outlay of ₹4,242 crore.