The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has announced a further extension of due dates under the Vivad Se Vishwas Act, 2020 (the Scheme) and the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act), and tax exemptions for certain payments to individuals due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The key announcements are summarized below.
Extension of due dates under the Scheme
- The last date for payment under the Scheme without any additional amount has been extended further from 30 June 2021 to 31 August 2021.
- For applications under the Scheme with certain additional amounts, the last date for payment is 31 October 2021.
Extension of due dates under the Act
The due dates for the following actions or submission of certificates, statements, returns and other documents have been extended as follows:
- objections to the Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) and assessing officer under section 144C due on 1 June 2021 or thereafter: extended to 31 August 2021;
- statement of deduction of tax for the last quarter of the financial year (FY) 2020/21: further extended from 30 June 2021 to 15 July 2021;
- certificate of tax deducted at source in Form No. 16: further extended from 15 July 2021 to 31 July 2021;
- statement of income paid or credited by an investment fund to its unit holder in Form No. 64C for FY 2020/21: further extended from 15 July 2021 to 31 July 2021;
- statement of income paid or credited by an investment fund to its unit holder in Form No. 64D for the FY 2020/21: further extended from 30 June 2021 to 15 July 2021;
- application under section 10(23C), section 12AB, section 35(1)(ii), section 35(1)(iia), section 35(1) (iii) and section 80G in Form 10A or Form 10AB: extended from 30 June 2021 to 31 August 2021;
- compliances for claiming any exemption under section 54 to section 54GB where the time limit falls between 1 April 2021 and 29 September 2021 (both days inclusive): extended to 30 September 2021;
- quarterly statement in Form No. 15CC: extended from 15 July 2021 to 31 July 2021;
- equalization levy statement in Form No. 1 for the FY 2020/21: extended from 30 June 2021 to 31 July 2021;
- annual statement to be furnished under section 9A(5) by an eligible investment fund in Form No. 3CEK for FY 2020/21: extended from 29 June 2021 to 31 July 2021;
- uploading of declaration in Form No. 15G/15H for the quarter ending 30 June 2021: extended from 15 July 2021 to 31 August 2021;
- exercise of option to withdraw pending applications filed before the Income Tax Settlement Commission under section 245M(1) in Form No. 34BB: extended from 27 June 2021 to 31 July 2021.
- last date of linkage of Aadhar with the permanent account number (PAN) under section 139AA: further extended from 30 June 2021 to 30 September 2021;
- passing of assessment orders: further extended from 30 June 2021;
- passing of penalty orders: further extended from 30 June 2021 to 30 September 2021; and
- processing of equalization levy returns: further extended from 30 June 2021 to 30 September 2021.
Tax exemptions
The following payments are exempt from income tax:
- amount received by a taxpayer for the treatment of COVID-19 from an employer or from any person during FY 2019/20 and subsequent years; and
- ex-gratia payment received by family members of an employee from the employer of such employee (without limit) or from other persons (limited to INR 1 million in aggregate) on the death of the employee on account of COVID-19 during FY 2019/20 and subsequent years.
The extensions and tax exemptions are available via a press release issued on 25 June 2021 and CBDT Circular No. 12/2021 dated 25 June 2021.