The tax department also extends deadlines for Form-16, filing belated returns

Individual income tax payers now have time till September 30 to file their returns for the financial year 2020-21, instead of the original due date of July 31, 2021.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Thursday extended various income tax return deadlines for the financial year 2020-21 (assessment year 2021-22) in view of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced disruptions. This has been done to provide relief to tax-payers during the pandemic, according to the CBDT circular.

More time to file returns

Belated or revised returns for the financial year, which could be filed until December 31 under section 139, can now be done up to January 31, 2022. The delay will, however, attract a late filing fee of Rs 5,000. If you file your returns after this date, but before March 31, you will have to shell out a larger penalty of Rs 10,000. However, if your total income is less than Rs 5 lakh, the late fee will be limited a maximum of Rs 1,000.

Your employers, too, will get an additional month to issue your forms-16 – the deadline has been pushed from June 15 to July 15. Salaried tax-payers require this document to file their income tax returns.

“The various due date relaxations will reduce the compliance burden for businesses that have been struggling in the current crisis. The extension of due dates for various compliances for employers as well extension of tax filing due date for taxpayers is important in the current situation, as the second wave of covid is raging through several states in India.” says Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO, Cleartax.