Home Business: Maharashtra Consumer Body Pleads to PM, Finance Minister to Extend ITR Deadline Due to Rain and Flood Havoc
A tax and financial advisor from Mumbai, A.N. Desai, has stated that the official portal for filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) for the assessment year 2023-2024 is experiencing heavy traffic and has slowed down significantly. This is due to the rush of lakhs of assessees trying to file their ITR before the deadline.
The Council for Protection of Rights (CPR), a consumer organization, has issued an appeal to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and other officials requesting an extension of the last date for filing ITR for the financial year 2022-2023. The CPR President, Barrister Vinod Tiwari, highlighted the natural calamities that have affected large parts of the country, including heavy rains, floods, and landslides. These events have caused distress to the people and have made it difficult for them to file their ITR.
Desai expressed concern that if the deadline is not extended, many people may have to pay hefty fines through no fault of their own. He has urged for an extension of at least six weeks, while Tiwari has proposed an extension until August 15. On the other hand, Abhay Mehta, ex-President of the Bombay Chartered Accountants Society, believes that ITR-related work should ideally be completed by July to avoid penalties for late-filing.
In previous years, the government has provided generous extensions to enable people to comply, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, this year, the deadline is set for July 31, and the government has made it clear that no further extensions will be given. Maharashtra, with 1.13 crore filers, leads the country in ITR filings, followed by Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
Given the circumstances and heavy traffic on the official portal, the consumer organization is calling for an extension of the deadline to provide relief to the people affected by the rain and flood havoc.