New Delhi. Just two days are left for the deadline to end for filing income tax returns for the financial year 2021-22. If you are also waiting for the deadline to extend and have not yet filed returns, then you may be taking a big risk.
Income Tax Expert tried to decode the messages issued by the Income Tax Department and some relief things are also coming out of it. However, the full emphasis of the experts is on the fact that taxpayers should file their returns before the stipulated time i.e. 31st July. The Income Tax Department has also appealed to the taxpayers in their recent tweet to deposit the tax early to avoid late fees and fines.
what did the income tax department say
The Income Tax Department has once again appealed to the taxpayers to file their returns on time by tweeting on July 28. The department said that till July 28, a total of 4.09 crore taxpayers have filed their returns, whereas in the previous assessment year, a total of 5.7 crore audited ITRs had been filed. In such a situation, taxpayers should file their returns soon instead of speculating about extending the deadline. On July 28, more than 36 lakh ITRs were filed.
Over 4.09 crore ITRs filed till 28th July, 2022 & more than 36 lakh ITRs filed on 28th July, 2022 itself.
The due date to file ITR for AY 2022-23 is 31st July, 2022.
Please file your ITR now, if not filed as yet. Avoid late fee.
Over 4.09 crore ITRs filed till 28th July, 2022 & more than 36 lakh ITRs filed on 28th July, 2022 itself.
The due date to file ITR for AY 2022-23 is 31st July, 2022.
Please file your ITR now, if not filed as yet. Avoid late fee.
Pl visit: https://t.co/GYvO3n9wMf#ITR #FileNow pic.twitter.com/p0ABBuoZ6r— Income Tax India (@IncomeTaxIndia) July 29, 2022
Why experts are telling positive signs
Tax experts say that in the assessment year 2021-22, a total of 6.68 crore returns were filed, out of which the number of ITRs audited till September 2021 was 5.70 crore. If we look at the number of total ITRs filed till July 28, then it is now 1.7 crore behind from last year. Therefore, to fill this big gap, the government can increase the deadline. Apart from this, there is no other reason for which the deadline for filing returns should be extended.
Other experts say that if we look at the number of returns filed on July 28, it was 36 lakhs and there were still three days left. This means that the number of return filers by the deadline will easily cross 5 crores. If we look at the figures of the last day of last year, about 50 lakh taxpayers had filed returns. This means that the total number of ITRs in this also can go up to 5.50 crores. If this happens, then the chances of extending the deadline will be less.
The Income Tax Department may consider increasing its deadline on a single basis, when there is a major technical flaw on the portal, but till now the portal is running well and except in a few cases, there has been no specific report of technical problem. In such a situation, speculating about increasing the deadline seems far-fetched.