The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended various deadlines under the Direct Tax laws in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
The key announcements of Notification No. 35/2020 and the relevant press release are summarized below.
Extensions to Deadlines under the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020
- The extended time limit for the completion of or compliance with actions specified therein is 31 December 2020 (from 30 June 2020).
- The end date to which the time limit for completion of or compliance with such action will be extended is 31 March 2021.
Extensions to Deadlines under the Income-tax Act, 1961
- The extended due date for filing the income tax return for financial year (FY) 2018-19 is 31 July 2020 (from 30 June 2020).
- The extended due date for filing income tax returns for FY 2019-20 is 30 November 2020 (from 31 July and 31 October 2020). Consequently, the extended due date for filing a tax audit report is 31 October 2020.
- The extended date for furnishing the statements of deduction of tax at source (TDS)/collection of tax at source (TCS) for the month of February or March 2020, or for the quarter ended 31 March 2020 is 31 July 2020. The extended date of issuance of TDS / TCS certificates for FY 2019-20 is 15 August 2020.
- The extended deadline of making investments/purchases for the purpose of claiming benefits for capital gains under the provisions of section 54 and section 54GB of the Act is 30 September 2020.
- The extended deadline of making various payments/investments for the deduction under chapter VIA-B of the Act, including sections 80C (contributions to life insurance, provident fund, subscription to certain equity shares), 80D (health insurance) and 80G (donations to certain funds and charitable institutions), is 31 July 2020.
- The extended date for commencement of operation for the Special Economic Zones units for claiming deduction under section 10AA of the Act is 30 September 2020 (from 30 June 2020) for the units that received approval by 31 March 2020.
- Under the "Vivad Se Vishwas" Scheme, the extended deadlines for the completion of or compliance with actions is 30 December 2020; the end date for making the said completion or compliance is 31 December 2020 (from 30 June 2020).
- The extended deadline for the payment of self-assessment tax for small and medium-sized taxpayers with tax liabilities of up to INR 100,000 is 30 November 2020.
- The extended deadline for the Aadhar – PAN linking date is 31 March 2021 (from 30 June 2020).
- The extended deadlines for implementation of new procedures under sections 10(23C), 12AA, 35 and 80G of the Act is 1 October 2020 (from 1 June 2020).
- The reduced interest rate of 9% for late payment of taxes, levies, etc. will not be applicable after 30 June 2020.