The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the deadline for filing audit reports related to the Assessment Year 2024-25, addressing the challenges taxpayers faced with electronic submissions under the Income Tax Act.
Originally set for September 30, 2024, the deadline has now been pushed to October 7, 2024, to provide relief for those required to comply with these audit report obligations.
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This extension applies to all taxpayers, including individuals, companies, and other assessees whose income tax returns are due by October 31, 2024, and who were initially required to submit a tax audit report by September 30. All assessees required to undergo a tax audit can now upload their tax audit report by October 7, 2024, a tax expert told BT.
The decision by the CBDT was driven by reports of sluggishness in the e-filing portal, which many taxpayers found difficult to navigate. Chartered Accountant Deepak Chopra, Chairman of the Direct Tax Committee at the Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association (KSCAA), confirmed that the extension is applicable across the board for those who were initially bound by the September deadline.
The CBDT’s circular dated September 29, 2024, acknowledged these technical difficulties and invoked its authority under Section 119 of the Income Tax Act to extend the audit report submission date. Many experts welcomed the move, but also cautioned against complacency.
The malfunctioning of the tax portal made it difficult to file reports like Form 10B/10BB and others, leading to the hope that the income tax return (ITR) deadline could also be extended to November 7, 2024, or later, given the Diwali festivities in early November.
For those at risk of missing the original September 30 deadline, the extension is a financial relief. This seven-day extension could save taxpayers penalties of Rs 1.5 lakh or 0.5% of total sales. Taxpayers who miss the revised October 7 deadline may still submit their reports, but they risk facing penalties and having their income tax returns marked as defective if they continue to delay beyond this period.