Income Tax - extension of due date for filing returns for those who have to get their accounts audited - Several High Courts direct CBDT to extend date - When is it coming?
MANY citizens will be happy to pay the taxes, but the hassles in paying them are frustrating. Those, who are to get their accounts audited, are required to file their returns latest by 30th September, but the time limit to file the Tax Audit Reports is extended till 30th November. But you can't file the return without getting the Audit Report. That is none of the business of CBDT.
Harried assessees are running frantically to the nearest High Court. Already Hyderabad, Madras, Gujarat and Bombay High Courts have directed the CBDT to consider extending the date.
The Gujarat High Court observed,
A very peculiar situation has arisen portraying the genuine hardship to the assessee, as also to the tax consultants, by way of representations made to the Board, it would have been desirable and expedient on the part of the CBDT to have considered such request and exercise the powers by way of a relaxation. What all that has been sought is to make the due date for filing the tax return harmonious with the filing of the TAR and without jeopardizing the issue of collection of tax, it was not impossible to exercise such powers of relaxation of provision prescribing extension of the due date.
The High Court directed the CBDT to extend the due date for furnishing the return of income to 30th November 2014.
The Bombay High Court observed,
We hope and trust that CBDT will look into all these practical difficulties enumerated above and take a just and proper decision on the matter, before 30 September 2014, as already directed by the Madras High Court.
We understand that the CBDT is seriously working on extending the date, but why did they push all these assessees to the High Courts?