Will the Income Tax Department extend the income tax return (ITR) filing due date beyond September 15? This question is playing on the minds of crores of income tax assessees as the deadline to file a tax return for AY 2025-26 is not too far. With around 5 crore returns being filed so far, expectations are high among tax professionals and taxpayers that the tax department might give another extension in the due date since about 3 crore income tax returns are yet to be filed within the deadline.
The Centre in May extended the due date to file ITR from July 31 to September 15, 2025 for those taxpayers whose accounts are liable to be audited. The government cited reasons like systemic changes, including in ITR forms and utilities, behind its move to give an additional 46 days to taxpayers for compliance.
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The process of filing Income Tax Return (ITR) is in its final stages and this time too discussions have intensified regarding the deadline.
Chartered Accountants (CAs) and tax practitioners across the country say that many taxpayers are facing difficulty in filing returns due to technical glitches, data mismatch between AIS and Form 26AS and new audit report format. Due to this, the demand for extending the last dates of ITR and tax audit is gaining momentum.
ITR filing due dates for different taxpayers
The Income Tax Department has set different deadlines for different categories of taxpayers.
Individual taxpayers (who are not audited): Returns have to be filed by 15 September 2025.
Businesses and professionals who get audited: Returns must be filed by 31 October 2025.
Taxpayers with transfer pricing reports: The deadline for these is 30 November 2025.
That is, every taxpayer will have to adhere to the last date according to their category.
Why is there a demand to extend the deadline?
Technical problems of tax portal: Errors in login, validation and e-filing are constantly coming to the fore.
Difference in AIS and 26AS data: Taxpayers are not able to understand which data to trust.
Pressure of new ICAI format: A new format has been implemented for tax audit report, which has increased the additional burden on accountants and companies.
Excessive compliance burden: Businesses and professionals say that it is not possible to complete all the reporting in the time constraint.
For these reasons, CAs and tax practitioners organizations have appealed to the government to extend the last dates for ITR and tax audit.
What happens if ITR is not filed on time?
If a taxpayer does not file the return by the deadline, he may have to suffer many losses:
Late fee: A penalty of up to Rs 5,000 may be levied.
Delay in refund: It may take months to get a refund if the return is not filed on time.
Loss of carry forward loss: Some types of losses cannot be adjusted next year if the return is not filed on time.
Threat of legal action: Deliberate non-filing of return may result in penalty and interest as well as legal action.
Message for taxpayers
The government has not yet made any official announcement regarding the extension of the deadline. But CAs and many trade organisations are constantly putting pressure. In such a situation, taxpayers shouldn’t wait for the last moment and file the return as soon as possible.