No extension of ITR filing deadline, says government

New Delhi: The Central government, on Friday, December 31, said there is no proposal to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns beyond its current deadline of December 31.

Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said December 31, 2021, remains the official deadline for filing income tax returns.

He said returns filed so far are more than those filed in the previous year. Bajaj also announced that so far 5.62 crore income tax returns (ITRs) have been filed by taxpayers for the assessment year 2020-21. 

“By 3 pm today, 5.62 crore returns have been filed in total. Today, more than 20 lakh returns were filed. This year 60 lakh more returns have been filed, Bajaj said. 

He also said that income tax return filing is going on smoothly till now, while addressing the concerns related to the malfunctioning of the income tax portal developed by IT major Infosys.  

The deadline for filing the income tax returns for FY21 is December 31, 2021. Taxpayers who miss the deadline will need to pay a penalty if they file income tax returns anytime later than Dec 31. Also Read: 5.62 crore returns have been filed till now; 20 lakh ITRs filed today: Revenue Secretary

The Income Tax department had earlier extended the ITR filing deadline twice. First from July 31 to September 30, 2021, and then from September 30 to December 31, 2021, due to the issues faced by taxpayers due to the pandemic. Also Read: It's not BJP money: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Rs 200 crore seized from perfume maker in Kannauj