I-T returns deadline not to be extended

Team Udayavani, Jul 31, 2017, 9:21 AM IST

New Delhi: The last date for filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for the financial year 2016-17 will not be extended beyond Monday’s deadline, a top official said on Sunday.

“The last date for filing of ITRs remains July 31. There are no plans to extend this deadline. The department has already received over two crore returns electronically. The department requests taxpayers to file their return in time,” the official said.

On reports of the e-filing website facing some glitches, the official said that no major glitches have been reported with the department’s e-filing website, barring a few times when the portal was “interrupted for maintenance”.

The department has also issued advertisements in leading national dailies in the last few days stating that taxpayers should disclose their income “correctly” and file their ITRs on or before July 31.

The linking of Aadhaar number with the PAN (Permanent Account Number) of a taxpayer has also been made mandatory for filing of an ITR, beginning July 1.

The department has also asked taxpayers to declare cash deposits made in bank accounts aggregating to Rs 2 lakh or more, post demonetisation between November 9 and December 30 last year, in the ITRs.

The I-T department is also considering setting up a centralised cell for scrutiny of income tax cases as part of efforts to reduce personalised interface between the taxmen and taxpayers with a view to curb corrupt practices.

The proposed cell will be on the lines of the Central Processing Centre (CPC) that the department currently has in Bengaluru for processing income tax returns.

A senior revenue department official said the department wants to reduce interface between taxpayers and the department officers and is planning to set up a CPC.

E-mails sent out from the CPC would not bear the name of the assessing officer, he said.

“It is in discussion stage. This will be as part of the department’s drive to go faceless and reduce interface,” the official, who did not wish to be quoted, told PTI.