In a major relief to the taxpayers, the government has extended the deadline for filing income tax return (ITR) for the financial year 2018-19 by a month to August 31, 2019. The finance ministry deadline extension is a much-needed relief for individuals filing ITR as there were multiple problems being faced in filing returns by July 31.
"In this regard, the Central Board of Direct Taxes, in exercise of its powers conferred under Section 119 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, hereby extends the due date as prescribed under Section 139 (1) of the Act for filing of income tax returns from 31st July, 2019, to 31st August, 2019, in case of all taxpayers who are liable to file their income tax returns by the said due date," a Finance Ministry order said.
"The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) extends the ‘due date’ for filing of Income Tax Returns from 31st July 2019 to 31st August 2019 in respect of certain categories of taxpayers who were liable to file their Returns by 31.07.2019." the Income Tax India tweeted.
However, July 31 was the deadline to file income tax returns for most individuals and HUFs. Under this category, Individuals, including salaried taxpayers and HUFs - who are not mandatorily required to get their accounts audited for tax purposes.- were required to file their income tax returns for fiscal 2018-19 (Assessment Year 2019-20) by July 31, 2019.
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The decision came in the wake of many taxpayers facing difficulty in filing their ITRs for various reasons, including the extension of the due date for the issuance of Form 16 for the assessment year 2019-20.
Several chartered accountant and tax professionals had also appealed to the government to extend the return filing deadline date since the issuance of tax deducted at source (TDS) statement for 2018-19 fiscal was delayed.
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