The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has rolled out as many as seven ITR (income tax return) forms incorporating some key changes in them to align with budget announcements made last year to meet policy objectives and evolving tax norms. These forms, however, have been notified with quite a delay this year if compared with previous year. In addition to this, the Income Tax Department is yet to made available the online Excel utilities of these forms to facilitate e-tax filing on the income tax portal.
All this has led to taxpayers wondering if the tax department will give them some extra time beyond July 31 to meet their tax return filing obligation. Experts, however, are of the view that the government might not give an extension in the ITR filing deadline this year because in the past, whenever such a call was taken, it was due to technical glitches impacting the return filing process or on account of some extraordinary circumstances.
According to CA (Dr.) Suresh Surana, while queries around possible extensions are common at this time of year, it is important to note that it is still too early in May to reasonably state whether such a decision will be taken.
His statement aligns with the fact that historically, any announcements related to deadline extensions that were warranted have typically been made closer to the due date, and only under specific circumstances.
Also read: Income Tax Return 2025: How to file ITR without Form 16? Check out THESE easy alternative documents
No notification from I-T Dept regarding deadline extension
Also, as of now, the Income Tax Department has not issued any notification regarding an extension of the 31 July, 2025 deadline for filing Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for individuals and non-audit cases.
Extensions in previous years have been granted only in limited situations such as widespread technical disruptions on the e-filing portal, significant delays in the release of Form 16 or Annual Information Statements (AIS), or exceptional events like natural calamities or public health emergencies, Surana emphasised.
“As of yet, no such extraordinary circumstances have emerged that would justify a revision of the filing timeline. As such, unless unexpected developments occur in the coming months, an extension of the 31 July deadline appears unlikely at this stage,”
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