Last minute ITR filing: Here's why deadline for ITR filing should be extended

Mumbai: Salaried employees across the country have been scurrying around to file their Income Tax returns as the deadline of July 31 nears closer.

Several have however, not been able to file their I-T returns due to various reasons. Moreover, significant changes have been introduced in 2017 for filing the returns. A lot of people have been demanding for extension of the deadline this year due to various reasons.

One of the main reasons for this is that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) amended the rules in relation to filing TDS returns by banks who issue Form 16A (TDS certificate) to assesses, said the Economic Times. As a result, the deadline for these banks and deductors to file their TDS returns got extended from May 15 to May 31. Consequently, this led to banks issuing Form 16A to their customers went up till June 15, 2017.

Secondly, as the finance ministry revised the deadline for issuing TDS certificates for FY2016-17 to employees by employers to June 15, employees would have received the TDS certificates much later from their employers this year. TDS needs to be filed carefully and hence, an employee who only got his or her TDS certificate on June 15, will have effectively 15 days to file the return in time for the deadline.

Thirdly, the Finance Ministry in 2017, mandated the linking of PAN with Aadhaar for filing of I-T returns. Several problems like the e-filing website crashing, linking of PAN and Aadhaar causing problems due to spelling mismatches, date of birth mismatches, have led to people finding it difficult to link their PAN with Aadhaar. This practical problem contributes to the cause of extending the deadline of filing ITRs in 2017.

Fourthly,  due to the new Goods and Services Tax coming into force from July 1, chartered accountants have been busy helping clients shift to the new regime. This has led to the dearth of tax advisors available for helping employees with filing ITRs.

Considering all these reasons, the government should extend the deadline for filing Income Tax returns for this financial year.