ITR Date Extension: The Great Indian Waiting Game
It’s that time of the year again — when coffee turns into our primary source of nutrition, Excel sheets are our best friends, and the entire country collectively asks one question: “Will the ITR date be extended or not?”
For taxpayers and professionals alike, this has become an annual festival of uncertainty — celebrated with late-night group messages, client calls that start with “Sir, any update on extension?”, and social media filled with memes showing CAs meditating in front of the CBDT office.
This year, the suspense is no less dramatic. The Hon’ble Delhi High Court has taken up the matter of extension of the Income Tax Return (ITR) due date for AY 2025–26 in the case of Sumit Garg vs. CBDT & Anr. (WP (C) 14882/2025). During the hearing, the learned counsel for the CBDT informed the Court that the issue of ITR due date extension is “under active consideration.” Those three words — under active consideration — are enough to keep every CA’s heart rate higher than the Sensex on a budget day.
The Court has granted time and posted the matter for further hearing on 29th October 2025. Till then, the nation waits. Offices are in half-celebration mode and half-panic mode. Files are being hurriedly uploaded, but not before one last refreshing of Twitter (sorry, “X”) to check if someone has posted, “ITR date extended!”
This year’s confusion stems from an unusual mismatch. The Tax Audit Report (TAR) deadline was extended to 31st October 2025, but the ITR due date for audit cases — normally aligned with it — has not yet been formally extended. This has created the classic “two-wheeler with one flat tyre” situation: you can file your audit report peacefully, but the ITR may still remain pending like a hero waiting for his entry in the climax.
The Gujarat High Court, in its judgment dated 13.10.2025, had already nudged the CBDT to consider an extension. And now, with the Delhi High Court stepping in, taxpayers across the nation are watching the courtroom drama unfold with popcorn in hand.
Meanwhile, professional groups are divided into two camps.
1. Team Extension:firmly believes that “ITR due date always gets extended. It’s destiny.” They’ve already planned their Diwali vacations.
2.Team No-Extension:the cautious ones, still burning the midnight oil, uploading returns as if the world ends on 31st October.
Both are right in their own ways. After all, experience has taught us that the only thing predictable about due dates is their unpredictability.
Some taxpayers have even started playing the “Extension Bingo” — guessing the date of announcement. “It’ll come on 28th evening,” says one. “No, no, on 30th night after the Court hearing,” predicts another. In the meantime, CAs are politely explaining to clients for the 47th time that “Sir, extension hasn’t come yet, but yes, it’s under consideration.”
The CBDT’s decision will be crucial — not just for compliance, but for sanity. With the festive season around the corner, professionals are juggling between tax filings and Diwali shopping. One side of the desk has audit reports; the other has sweets and diyas waiting for attention.
So what should taxpayers do now? The wise approach is simple — keep calm and file on. Because if the extension comes, you’ll celebrate early; and if it doesn’t, you’ll still sleep peacefully on 31st October night.
In the end, the ITR extension story is like a Bollywood suspense thriller — we all know there will be a twist, we just don’t know when. Till the curtain lifts on 29th October in the Delhi High Court, every professional will continue refreshing the news portals while muttering that timeless line — “Please, just one week more!”
