The income tax department on Sunday said it is revising the ITR forms for the FY 2019-20. This is done to allow taxpayers to avail benefits of various timeline extension granted by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in a statement on April 19. Earlier, an extension till June 30 was provided to various statutory deadlines related to income tax which were ending on March 31.
The Ministry of Finance in its statement release said, “In order to enable income taxpayers to avail full benefits of various timeline extensions granted by the Government of India due to coronavirus pandemic situations, the CBDT is revising the return forms for FY 2019-20 (AY 2020-21) which shall be notified by the end of this month.”
Due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic and a nationwide lockdown following it, which began from March 25, the government has extended various timelines including those related to investments and expenses under Section 80C. These are extended under the Income Tax Act, 1961, through the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of certain provisions) Ordinance, 2020.
- The deadline for filing revised income tax returns for the FY 2018-19 (AY 2019-20) also gets extended to September 30.
- The last date for employers to issue Form 16 to employees is 15 August 2020. Form 16 has the details of the total salary received by the employee, the tax deducted by the employer and deduction availed by the employee. Form 16 helps in filing ITRs. Employees who want to file their tax return or ITRs early can do so using their salary slips and Form 26AS.
- Earlier, the government had also extended the last date of filing of the income tax return for FY 2019-20 (AY 2020-21) to 30th November 2020. It should also be noted that for linking biometric Aadhaar with PAN the deadline was extended till March 31 next year.
- In June, the government had extended the date for making investment, construction, purchase for claiming deduction in respect of capital gains under Sections 54 to 54GB of the Income Tax Act to September 30, 2020. Section 54 relates to tax exemptions available from capital gains if the capital gains are invested in purchase or construction of residential property. Therefore, the investment, construction, purchase made up to September 30, 2020 shall be eligible for claiming deduction from capital gains.
- Vivad Se Vishwas scheme for direct tax dispute resolution has been extended till December 31, 2020. The Vivad se Vishwas scheme was announced in Union Budget 2020 for providing dispute resolution in respect of pending income tax litigation. Under this scheme, a taxpayer would be required to pay only the amount of the disputed taxes and will get complete waiver of interest and penalty.
