The Gujarat High Court on Monday asked the Central Board of Direct Taxes to extend the deadline for filing tax audit reports. This comes weeks after the CBDT pushed the last date till Oct. 31.
The high court's directive to India's apex direct tax authority may lead to a further extension till Nov. 30. CBDT is expected to issue fresh notification in line with the order.
The court also mandated a one-month gap between tax audit report and ITR filing deadlines.
The CBDT had earlier extended the due date for filing tax audit report to Oct. 31 from the earlier due date of Sept. 30.
This came after the board received representation from various professionals and associations highlighting difficulties being faced by taxpayers and practitioners in completing the audit report. The reasons also included natural calamities like floods in certain part of the country that have disrupted normal business and professional activity.
The extension in deadline in September followed directions from the Rajasthan High Court and the Karnataka High Court, as both asked the CBDT to push the last date to Oct. 31. Similar petitions seeking relief on the due date are also pending before other high courts.
The petitioner in the Rajasthan High Court had submitted that the utility for filing the TAR was released on July 18, and major changes were made to it on Aug. 14, while the statutory due date remained Sept. 30, thus leaving the taxpayers with only 47 days, whereas under the law, they should have been given 183 days.
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