Revised Time Limits for Various Compliances under the Income-tax Act




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Revised Time Limits for Various Compliances under the Income-tax Act

 

 

With the second wave of Covid-19 raging unabated across the country, Government has provided the much awaited relief by extending the due dates of various compliances under Income Tax & GST Act. Relaxation includes extension of the deadlines for filing returns, relaxation in payment, late fees, taxes, etc.

Relaxation in Income Tax Compliance:

The nature of relaxations granted in Income Tax Compliances vides circular No. 08/2021 dated 30/04/2021 & other circulars are as under:

  1. Appeal to Commissioner (Appeals) has been extended till 31st May 2021 for all cases where the last date of filing is due on 1st April 2021 or thereafter.
  2. The date for filing Objections to Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) u/s 144C which was due on 1st April 2021 or thereafter has also been extended to 31st May 2021.
  3. Income-tax return in response to notice u/s 148 of the Income-tax Act,1961, for which the last date of filing of return of income was 1st April 2021 or thereafter, has also been extended till 31st May 2021.
  4. Filing of belated return for the AY 2020-21 (which was required to be filed on or before 31st March 2021) has also been extended to 31st May 2021.
  5. Payment of tax deducted u/s 194-IA, 194-IB & 194M of the Income-tax Act,1961 and filing of challan-cum-statement for such tax deducted, which are required to be paid and furnished by 30/04/21 may be paid on or before 31st May 2021. There is no generalized exception for payment of TDS and only TDS covered by Section 194-IA, IB & 194M has been given a relief till 31/05/2021.
  6. Statement in Form No. 61, containing particulars of declarations received in Form No. 60, which is due to be furnished on or before 30th April 2021, may be furnished on or before 31st May 2021.
  7. The due date of linking PAN with Aadhar has also been extended from 31/03/2021 to 30/06/2021. It may be noted that no amendment has been made in Rule 114AaA which provides that if an assessee fails to link his PAN with Aadhar by 31-03-2020. As a result, PAN shall become inoperative if not linked.
  8. The due date of payment of tax without additional charge under Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020 was 30/04/2021 has also been extended to 30/06/2021.
  9. The due date for sending intimation of processing of Equalisation Levy u/s Section 168 of the Finance Act 2016, which was 30/04/2021 have been extended to 30/06/2021. (Extension has been given in those cases where the due date falls between 20-03-2020 to 31-03-2021)

Relaxation in GST Compliance:

Government has extended the dates of various compliances by Taxpayers under GST, through Central Tax Notification Nos. 10/2021, 11/2021, 12/20211, 13/2021, 14/2021; all dated 1st May, 2021. The details of the relaxation are as under:

  1. Businesses with aggregate revenue of more than Rs 5 crore in the previous financial year will be exempt from paying a late fee if they fail to file their GSTR-3B returns within 15 days of the due date in March and April.
  2. The late fee is waived for companies with an aggregated turnover up to Rs 5 crore for up to 30 days of late payment over the two-month period. The 30-day window applies to taxpayers with an aggregated turnover of up to Rs 5 crore for the term January-March 2021.
  3. The deadline to file a return in Form GSTR-4 under the CGST Rules, 2017, for the fiscal year ending March 31st, 2021, has been shifted to May 31st, 2021.
  4. The deadline for filing the Form GST ITC-04 related to declaration in respect of products dispatched to or obtained from a job worker from January 1st to March 31st, 2021, to May 31st, 2021.
  5.  GSTR-1 due date for April 2021 has been postponed to May 26th & IFF due date has been delayed to May 28th.
  6. For the months of April and May 2021, there is a relaxation on interest for non-payment, short payment, or delay in the payment of tax dues. Interest rate has been halved to 9% for a delay of 15 days for GST assesses with a turnover of over Rs 5 crore. Those with a turnover of up to Rs. 5 cr would not have to pay any interest for the first 15 days and 9% for the next 15 days.
  7. Timeline for all other proceedings, asset order etc. whose last date of completion falls between 15th April to 30th May is extended to 31st May

By extending the deadlines for filing various GST returns, the Government has provided significant relief to taxpayers. However, with Covid cases rising in the country, the Government should consider extending the timelines further.

It may be noted that the Supreme court in Miscellaneous Application No. 665/2021 in SMW(C) No. 3/2020 vide order Dated 27/04/2021 has suo motu extended the period of limitation for instituting proceedings, outer limits (within which the court or tribunal can condone delay) and termination of proceedings till further orders.

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