The Never-Ending Drama of Tax Audit Due Date Extension
September is to tax professionals what April is to fools: a season of repeated déjà vu, the same comedy being replayed every year with new characters but the same old script. Yes, we are talking about the grand Tax Audit Report (TAR) due date extension saga, which has now become a regular annual blockbuster in the corridors of Chartered Accountants’ offices, bar associations, and-inevitably-our High Courts.
This year too, as September days shrink and patience runs thinner than the CBDT’s bandwidth, professionals are left with the same unanswered question: “Why is CBDT so stubborn about extensions, when even they know the system isn’t working?”
The Familiar Script
Every year, the drama unfolds in three predictable acts:
1. Act One: The Technical Glitches.
The portal, as usual, decides to test our blood pressure. AIS doesn’t download, TIS refuses to cooperate, 26AS plays hide and seek, and e-verification works only if you chant a mantra three times.
2. Act Two: The Pleas.
Professional bodies start writing polite letters, representations, and reminders to the CBDT. They outline practical hardships, attach screenshots of portal errors, and politely say, “Sir, humse na ho payega.”
3. Act Three: The Courtroom Drama.
Since CBDT’s default response is silence (or the famous “Please complete your work in time; portal is working fine”), frustrated professionals rush to courts. And then, suddenly, due dates start depending on the mood of High Court benches across the country.
This year is no exception.
The PIL Parade
As of 22nd September 2025 (4:00 PM sharp, because every minute counts when deadlines are looming), here’s the scoreboard of who’s fighting where:
• Jodhpur Tax & Bar Association – Case listed on 24th September.
• Bhilwara Tax & Bar Association – Same day, same battlefield.
• Punjab & Haryana High Court (Ashwini Kumar v. Central Govt.) – Heard today. The Court told CBDT: “Seek instructions by 26th September, or else we’ll pass orders.” Translation: “Stop wasting our time and extend the date if you know what’s good for you.”
• Delhi Tax Bar Association – Heard today, next hearing on 24th September.
• RTCA – Filed, hearing date awaited.
• ITBA Ahmedabad – Filed SLP at Gujarat High Court today; details awaited.
It’s almost like an IPL (Indian Premier League) schedule-except this is the “PIL League.” Teams from different cities, all batting for the same cause: an extension that should have been announced weeks ago without forcing professionals into litigation.
Why the Stubbornness?
Now, the big mystery: why does CBDT act like the strict school principal who refuses to extend exam dates even when half the classrooms have leaky roofs?
• Theory 1: The Psychological Game.
CBDT believes professionals will slack off if they extend the date too early. So, they prefer the last-minute extension-like a teacher who hands out grace marks only after students have cried enough.
• Theory 2: Prestige Battle.
Extension has become a matter of ego. If they extend easily, it looks like the system failed. But if courts “direct” them, they can gracefully say, “We are following judicial orders.”
• Theory 3: The Great Disconnect.
Decision-makers at the top may not fully grasp the ground reality of struggling taxpayers and overburdened professionals. After all, in Delhi’s AC chambers, Wi-Fi never goes down, and forms fill themselves.
The Human Side of the Story
Meanwhile, back in small-town India, here’s the ground reality:
• CA firms are running like call centers. One phone rings with a client saying, “Sir, 26AS is not showing my TDS.” Another rings: “Sir, portal is not allowing upload.” Third rings: “Sir, will CBDT extend the date?”
• Young articled assistants have given up on sleep. They are now experts at power naps between two failed upload attempts.
• Clients think everything is the CA’s fault. “Why didn’t you file earlier?” they ask, as if professionals love waiting for midnight battles with broken portals.
And in the middle of all this chaos, CBDT’s silence feels like that of a parent who pretends not to hear when the child is crying for ice cream.
Humor in Hardship
Tax professionals, though annoyed, are also a resilient species. They’ve developed their own ways of coping with the madness:
• WhatsApp groups circulate memes of portals crashing more often than Indian trains running late.
• Jokes fly around: “CBDT should launch a new reality show—India’s Got Deadlines-where professionals compete to upload returns before the portal crashes.”
• Dark humor thrives: “Why worry about blood pressure? The Income Tax portal will test your limits for free.”
Courts as Saviours
Interestingly, courts have now become the unlikely heroes of the story. Professionals no longer say, “CBDT will extend the date.” Instead, they say, “Which High Court will extend the date first?”
And honestly, it’s embarrassing that the highest tax administration body in the country has to be dragged to court every year for something so routine. Shouldn’t CBDT be proactive in granting relief, instead of waiting to be scolded by judges?
A Modest Suggestion
Here’s a simple solution: why not fix a policy once and for all? Announce that TAR and ITR deadlines will automatically extend to 31st October every year, unless the portal functions flawlessly in September. This way:
• CBDT saves its face.
• Professionals save their sanity.
• Courts save their precious time.
But perhaps that’s too much common sense for the system.
The Bottom Line
The current episode of “Due Date Drama 2025” is still unfolding. Multiple High Courts are seized of the matter, and professionals are watching updates like cricket scores. Will the extension come on the 24th? On the 26th? Or in true Bollywood style, just five minutes before midnight on the 30th?
Only CBDT knows. And as always, they aren’t telling.
Till then, dear professionals, stock up on coffee, stay glued to your WhatsApp groups for updates, and keep your blood pressure machines handy. Because in Indian tax practice, there are only two certainties: death and last-minute extensions.
