The last date for filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for the financial year 2016-17 has been extended till August 5.
The last date for filing Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for the financial year 2016-17 has been extended till August 5. The earlier deadline was July 31.
But finance ministry officials explained that the e-filed returns will not be processed till taxpayers link their Aadhaar with PAN. And this linking can be done subsequent to the filing of ITRs any time before August 31.
The extension was due to glitches in the e-filing website. Sources say that due to the huge traffic on the last date of filing returns, the website had slowed making return filing difficult.
The official twitter handle of the income tax department said: “In view of the difficulties faced by taxpayers, date for filing of income tax returns for FY2016-17 has been extended to 5th August, 2017.”
The decision to extend the deadline was taken after a meeting between the revenue department and the direct tax board.Though officials in finance ministry had said that no major glitches have been reported with the department’s e-filing website -- http://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/-- there were several complaints from tax payers in the days leading up to the earlier deadline of July 31.
The department has also issued advertisements with instructions to taxpayers to ensure correct filing of returns.
It is mandatory for all taxpayers to link their 12-digit Aadhaar number with PAN for filing returns. The government has also mandated taxpayers to declare bank details in case of deposits above Rs 2 lakh after demonetisation.
India has 6.5 crore income tax payers as of 2016-17.