Tax dept extends ITR filing due date for AY26 to Sep 15
New Delhi, May 27 (PTI): The Income Tax department on Tuesday extended the due date for filing ITRs for Assessment Year 2025-26 by individuals and entities who do not have to get their accounts audited to September 15.
The extension from the current deadline of July 31, was on account of "structural and content revisions" in the income tax return (ITR) forms, which was notified in late April and early May. The changes made in the ITR form for AY 2025-26 also need modifications to be made in return filing utilities and the back-end system.
"To facilitate a smooth and convenient filing experience for taxpayers, it has been decided that the due date for filing ITR, originally due on July 31, is extended to September 15, 2025," the CBDT said.
The extension applies to individuals, HUFs and entities who do not need to get their accounts audited. They can now file their tax return for income earned in the 2024-25 (April-March) fiscal by September 15.
In a statement, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said the extension was necessitated to prepare Income Tax systems to incorporate changes in ITR forms and roll out the utilities.
The notified ITRs for AY2025-26 have "undergone structural and content revisions" aimed at simplifying compliance, enhancing transparency and enabling accurate reporting. These changes have necessitated additional time for system development, integration and testing of the corresponding utilities, it added.
Furthermore, credits arising from TDS statements, due for filing by May 31, are expected to begin reflecting in early June, limiting the effective window for return filing in the absence of such an extension, the statement said.
EY India Partner and National Leader, People Advisory Services-Tax, Sonu Iyer said, "The ITR forms notified for the FY 2024-25 (AY 2025-26) incorporate the amendments introduced by the Finance Act 2024 and have enhanced reporting requirements relating to deductions being claimed, the requirement to report TDS section codes, provide the bifurcation of capital gains for pre and post-July 23, 2024, etc".
Finance Act 2024 has rationalised capital gains taxation on specific transactions on or after July 23, 2024.
"Given the requirements of these new ITR forms, the e-filing utility (both online and offline) needs to be updated by the government. Therefore, it is a very welcome move from the government to extend the ITR filing deadline, allowing taxpayers the time required to comply with these enhanced reporting requirements and legislative changes," Iyer said.
AKM Global Partner- Tax Sandeep Sehgal said, "This extension comes against the backdrop of some significant structural changes introduced in the ITR forms this year, which have delayed the release of the corresponding return preparation utilities- typically made available in early April in the earlier years".
"Given the complexity and increased reporting requirements in the revised ITR forms, including more granular disclosures of capital gains, foreign income, and asset ownership, the extension offers much-needed relief to taxpayers."
The government, on April 29, notified the income tax return forms 1 and 4, filed by individuals, HUFs and entities with total income up to Rs 50 lakh a year and who do not have to get their accounts audited.
Now, entities with long-term capital gains of up to Rs 1.25 lakh from listed equities can show such income in ITR 1 and 4. Earlier, they were required to file ITR-2.
The government has also made certain changes in the form, with regard to deductions claimed under 80C, 80GG and other sections and has provided a drop-down menu in the utility for tax filers to select from.
Also, assessees will have to furnish in the ITR section-wise details with regard to TDS deductions.
Under the I-T law, LTCG of up to Rs 1.25 lakh from the sale of listed shares and mutual funds are exempt from tax. Gains exceeding Rs 1.25 lakh per annum are subject to 12.5 per cent tax.
Usually, the ITR forms are notified before the end of the fiscal, mostly around January/February. This time, however, the ITR forms and the filing utility got delayed as revenue department officials were preoccupied with the new Income Tax Bill, which was introduced in Parliament in February.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Search ops expanded to trace four missing passengers
Jabalpur (PTI): Army divers and disaster response teams on Saturday expanded their search at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh to locate a man and three children still missing after the cruise boat tragedy that claimed nine lives two days ago, officials said.
With 28 of the 41 identified passengers onboard the ill-fated cruise boat rescued safely, police are preparing to register an FIR in connection with the accident that occurred at the reservoir in Jabalpur district on Thursday evening, they said.
The search radius has been expanded to 5 km in the backwaters of the Bargi Dam, located downstream of the Narmada River, area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI.
Nine people drowned in the incident, while 28 were rescued, and efforts are ongoing to trace the missing persons, he said.
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According to the police, more than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, began the search operation at 5 am on Saturday to trace Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, his son Tamil (5), Vijay Soni (6) and Mayuram (5).
Mishra said that an inquest case has been registered and the post-mortem of nine deceased persons has been completed.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will soon register an FIR," he said.
Investigators have said that CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the ill-fated boat, and the names of 41 persons, who boarded the vessel, have been ascertained so far.
Collector Raghvendra Singh confirmed that a search is underway for four missing persons.
The rescue operation, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers, was briefly affected around 9 am due to strong winds.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including failure to provide life jackets.
The government also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, sank during a sudden storm around 6 pm on Thursday, and the wreckage was retrieved from the dam water on Friday, after the rescuers confirmed that there were no more bodies inside.
Eyewitnesses have said that strong winds made the water choppy, prompting passengers to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the vessel towards the riverbank.
A survivor alleged negligence by the crew and described a last-minute scramble for life jackets.
