Govt extends 2019-20 ITR filing deadline till Jan 10

Extending the deadline for the third time, the government on Wednesday allowed individuals to file income tax returns for 2019-20 fiscal till January 10.

The deadline for companies and individuals who need to get their accounts audited has been extended by 15 days till February 15, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The due date for filing of income tax return (ITR) by individuals and companies was December 31, 2020, and January 31, 2021, respectively.

Over 4.54 crore ITRs for 2019-20 fiscal (the assessment year 2020-21) were filed till December 28. In the comparable period last year, 4.77 crore income tax returns were filed.

At the close of the deadline for filing ITRs without payment of late fees for fiscal 2018-19 (the assessment year 2019-20), over 5.65 crore returns were filed by taxpayers.

The income tax department tweeted that the extension in various deadline was given in view of the continued challenges faced by taxpayers in meeting statutory compliances due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Also, the due date for filing declaration under the direct tax dispute resolution scheme Vivad Se Vishwas has been extended by a month till January 31.

The deadline for filing GST annual return for 2019-20 fiscal has been extended by two months till February 28, 2021.