In India, several professional tax bodies and associations are requesting the government to extend the Income Tax Return (ITR) filing due date from September 15, 2025, to October 15, 2025, citing technical issues on the ITR e-filing portal as one of the main reasons.
A representation has been submitted by the Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association (KSCAA), the Central India Regional Council (CIRC) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), and the Advocates Tax Bar Association (ATBA) to the Ministry of Finance. Slow upload speeds, validation errors, overlapping compliance deadlines, and delays in releasing required ITR and tax audit forms are some reasons that the portal is facing issues. Taxpayers and tax professionals face difficulty in finishing accurate filings within the said time.
Main Causes for Delay
- IT Portal performance issues: Uploads are slow, validations fail often, and system errors are causing issues in timely filing.
- Delayed release of ITR / tax audit forms: As necessary forms and utilities are being released late, many cannot start or finish their income tax return filing appropriately.
- Financial burden and risk of penalties: Due to the above issues, penalties may arise, and there is no time for taxpayers to validate and rectify errors.
- Overlapping compliance timelines: Taxpayers are encountering multiple deadlines, which, combined with technical delays, are raising pressure.
ATBA cited that earlier judicial and administrative precedents support these extensions of due date if there a systemic errors and delays. They view this as a matter of fairness, ensuring that all stakeholders have an equal opportunity.
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Finance Ministry, for those accounts that don’t need an audit, the extension may not be allowed. The claim is that the present due date of September 15 has already been extended once (from July 31), giving an extra 45 days.
As per the experts, delay may not be feasible, though the regional extensions in places that face disruptions (weather, utility release delays, etc.) can be considered.
