Income Tax returns deadline extended to September 15 for flood-hit Kerala

Income Tax assessees in Kerala can now file their I-T returns till September 15.

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NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has announced some relief to taxpayers in flood-hit Kerala. With just three days left for the filing of Income Tax returns, taxpayers in Kerala will receive a deadline extension till September 15.

The Centre had earlier extended the July 31 deadline for the filing of I-T returns to August 31. This revised deadline holds true for the rest of the country. However, CBDT observed in a statement on Tuesday the disruption to life in Kerala, caused by the worst floods in close to a century.

The deadline for the filing of Income Tax has begun to matter more from this year considering the government has introduced a late fee. The late fee has been fixed at Rs 1000 for those with annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh per annum and Rs 5000 to Rs 10000 for those with incomes over Rs 5 lakh.

"In view of the disruption caused due to severe floods in Kerala, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) hereby further extends the "Due Date" for furnishing Income Tax Returns from 31st August, 2018 to 15th September, 2018 for all Income Tax assessees in the State of Kerala, who were liable to file their Income Tax Returns by 31st August, 2018," read the statement.

This is not the only relaxation in the taxation filing deadlines that has been extended to flood-hit Kerala. On August 21, the Ministry of Finance had announced relaxations in the deadline for the filing of GST returns for taxpayers in not just Kerala, but also in the Kodagu district of southern Karnataka.

The worst flooding in nearly a century has caused widespread damage to Kerala's infrastructure and material wealth. The state government has said a preliminary estimate of the losses caused by the floods amounted to a whopping Rs 20,000 crore.

Relief operations are still underway in some parts of the state, which is seeing some pockets still in the darks thanks to the disruption of electricity supply. Efforts are presently underway to prevent the outbreak of diseases that are commonly associated with tropical flood-hit regions.