The income tax department may have extended the due date for filing income tax return (ITR) from July 31 to September 15, but the relaxation has not eased the process for most taxpayers, say chartered accountants.
This is primarily due to the fact that ITR filing utilities for key forms, including ITR-2 and ITR-3 that are relevant for individuals are yet to be released on the official e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in).
Multiple tasks closer to deadline
Online utilities – critical for completing the process – for forms ITR-2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 are yet to be released on the e-filing portal. “We now have only 60 days to complete the process, which means this is not an extension in the real sense. Now, the extended date will coincide with the harsher deadlines of tax statutory and transfer pricing audits,” says Mayank Mohanka, Founder-Director, TaxAaram.com. The delay will, in fact, add to the chartered accountants’ woes, as their return-filing tasks will get bunched up. Completing individuals’ ITR filing by July 31 allowed them time to focus on meeting other deadlines later. “This delay compresses the working season for tax professionals and taxpayers alike, and clashes with other compliance deadlines like ROC and GST annual filings,” says chartered accountant Himank Singla.
Interest on taxes due to delayed filing
Many taxpayers, who are otherwise prepared with all the necessary documents, have had to postpone key tasks due to the delay in releasing ITR utilities. “Many are waiting to complete the process so that they can apply for loans (ITR is one of the documents that lenders typically ask for to assess income and repayment capacity), for instance. This apart, many may not be aware that despite the extension of due date, if taxes are due to be paid to I-T, interest of 1 percent per month under section 234A will be applicable till the tax payment is made,” says Karan Batra, Founder, CharteredClub.
Also read | ITR filing 2025: Here are small-saving schemes that offer tax benefits under Section 80C
NRIs’ Aadhaar roadblock
Non-resident taxpayers, by law, are not required to link their Aadhaar and PAN. “They are exempted under section 139AA(3). However, the portal still mandates Aadhaar-based OTP verification for key functions such as: PAN registration, updating email/phone and resetting login credentials. This makes it technically impossible for NRIs to access or manage their own tax accounts despite being fully compliant under the law,” says Singla.
Also read | ITR filing 2025-26: Four mistakes that salaried taxpayers must avoid while filing income tax returns
AIS discrepancies related to post office deposit interest
Small savers, who might have been able to complete their return-filing process on time if the form applicable is ITR-1, have also run into issues with the data in the Annual Information Statement (AIS). “This year, interest from Post Office schemes like MIS, NSC, and KVP is being reported under “Interest (Others)” in AIS, instead of “Interest from Time Deposits”. Many ITR software tools rely on auto-import from AIS, and don’t classify MIS interest correctly. This could lead to incorrect reporting or loss of eligible deductions, unless manually corrected,” points out Singla.
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