Income Tax: Tax Audit due date extension on October 7 is the new date for AY 2024–2025 audit reports

Tax Audit due date extension All taxpayers—individuals, corporations, and other assessees—whose income tax returns are due by October 31, 2024, and who were initially obligated to turn in a tax…

By Reetam Bodhak

September 30, 2024

2 min read

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Tax Audit due date extension

All taxpayers—individuals, corporations, and other assessees—whose income tax returns are due by October 31, 2024, and who were initially obligated to turn in a tax audit report by September 30, are covered by this extension. In response to the difficulties taxpayers were having submitting their audit reports electronically under the Income Tax Act, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the deadline for doing so for the Assessment Year 2024–2025.

The deadline, which was originally scheduled for September 30, 2024, has been moved to October 7, 2024, in order to give individuals who must fulfill these audit report requirements some breathing room.

What is my tax liability?

Any taxpayer, including individuals, businesses, and other assessees, whose income tax returns are due by October 31, 2024, and who were initially obligated to submit a tax audit report by September 30, is eligible for this extension. A tax expert informed BT that by October 7, 2024, all assessees who are required to undergo a tax audit can upload their tax audit report.

The CBDT made its decision in response to complaints from taxpayers who were having trouble navigating the e-filing platform due to its slowness. Recognizing these technical issues, the CBDT extended the deadline for submitting audit reports by citing its jurisdiction under Section 119 of the Income Tax Act in a circular dated September 29, 2024. While applauding the action, many experts issued a warning against becoming complacent.

Tax Audit due date extension

Due to the tax portal’s malfunction, it was challenging to file reports such as Form 10B/10BB and others. As a result, there was expectation that the income tax return (ITR) deadline would be extended to November 7, 2024, or possibly later, given the early November Diwali celebrations.

The extension comes at a financial comfort for individuals who were in danger of missing the original deadline of September 30. Taxpayers may be able to avoid penalties of Rs 1.5 lakh, or 0.5% of total sales, with this seven-day extension. Taxpayers who miss the extended deadline of October 7 may still file their reports; but, if they wait over this point, they may be subject to fines and have their income tax returns flagged as defective.