The government on Monday gave businesses some comfort by extending the deadline for filing income tax returns by one month, to November 30.
In addition, the deadline for businesses that need to have their accounts audited has been extended by one month, until October 31.
“The deadline for submitting a Return of Income in Form ITR-7 for the Assessment Year 2023–24, which was previously set for October 31, 2023, is now November 30, 2023.”
In terms of ITRs submitted by taxpayers who pay income tax, India broke all previous records in FY 23–24. By July 31, a record 6.77 crore income tax returns, including 53.67 lakh first-time filers, had been submitted for the assessment year 2023–24.
“More than 6.77 crore ITRs for AY 2023-24 have been filed as of July 31, 2023, which is 16.1% more than the total ITRs for AY 2022-23 (5.83 crore) filed as of July 31, 2022.”
There were rumors that the government will extend the deadline for filing income tax returns as it was close to expire. However, the due date was not pushed out.
On July 31, 2023, the most ITRs had ever been filed—over 64.33 lakh—had been submitted in a single day. Up till July 31, 2023, the department also received 53.67 lakh ITRs from first-time filers, which is a good indication of the expansion of the tax base.