I-T dept extends deadline for tax audit report submission to Oct 31     

The Income Tax department on Thursday extended the deadline for submission of audit reports for the 2024-25 fiscal year by one month till October 31.

In a statement, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said the income tax return filing portal is working smoothly and more than 7.57 crore ITRs have been filed till September 23.

Till September 24, about 4.02 lakh tax audit reports were uploaded with over 60,000 of them uploaded on September 24 alone.

The CBDT said it has received representations from various professional associations, including chartered accountant bodies, highlighting certain difficulties being faced by taxpayers and practitioners in timely completion of the audit report.

The reasons cited in these representations include disruptions caused by floods and natural calamities in certain parts of the country, which have impeded normal business and professional activity. This matter has also come up before high courts.

"However, keeping in view the representation of the tax practitioners and their submissions before the courts, the 'specified date' for furnishing of the report of audit under any provision of the Income-Tax Act, 1961, for the previous year 2024-25 (Assessment Year 2025-26) is extended from September 30 to October 31," the CBDT said.

It is clarified that the Income-Tax e-filing portal has been operating smoothly and without any technical glitches and the tax audit reports are being uploaded successfully. The system is stable and fully functional, enabling submission of various statutory forms and reports, it added.

Faced with glitches on the portal, the income tax department had on September 15 extended the deadline for filing ITR by individuals and those who do not have to get their accounts audited by one day. Over 7.54 crore ITRs were filed till September 16. Of these, 1.28 crore taxpayers paid self-assessment tax till September 16.