New Delhi, October 8: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday further extended the ‘due date’ for the filing of Income Tax Returns as well as reports of Audit from 15th October 2018 to 31st October 2018, for certain categories of taxpayers. The Commissioner of Income Tax, Media & Technical Policy, CBDT informed that the new due date is now October 31 from October 15 earlier. Income Tax Return Filing Sees 71 Per Cent Increase, 5.42 Crore ITRs Submitted Till August 31

It must be noted that this is the second extension within a fortnight of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), earlier extending the deadline for taxpayers whose accounts have to be audited from September 30 to October 15. Income Tax Returns 2018: Penalty Clause Spurs Filing of IT Returns Within Deadline.

The CBDT in its statement said that upon consideration of representations from various stakeholders. "Upon consideration of representations from various stakeholders, CBDT further extends the ‘due date’ for filing of Income Tax Returns as well as reports of Audit (which were required to be filed by the said specified date) from October 15, 2018 to October 31, 2018 in respect of the said categories of taxpayers. However, as specified in earlier order dated 24.09.2018, assessees filing their return of income within the extended due date shall be liable for levy of interest as per provisions of section 234A of the Income-tax Act, 1961," the CBDT said in a statement. 5 easy steps to submit your ITR.

The government had informed that a total of Rs 5.42 crore income tax returns (ITRs) were filed till the end of extended August 31 deadline in 2018 showing an improvement of around 71 per cent over returns filed during the same period last year. According to a report by IANS, almost 34.95 lakh returns were uploaded on August 31 itself, which was the last day of the extended due date of filing returns, the government said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 08, 2018 07:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).