The Indian government, through the Central Board of Direct Taxes and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, has further extended the filing and payment deadlines for income tax and goods and services tax (GST) returns and reports or statements in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Income tax returns (ITRs) and audit reports
- The ITR filing deadline for the financial year (FY) 2019-20 (assessment year [AY] 2020-21) has been further extended from 30 November 2020 to 31 January 2021 for:
- taxpayers that are required to have their accounts audited by 31 October 2020; and
- taxpayers that are required to furnish a report in respect of international or specified domestic transactions by 30 November 2020.
- The payment deadline for self-assessment tax for the aforementioned taxpayers whose self-assessment tax liabilities do not exceed INR 100,000 has also been extended to 31 January 2021.
- The ITR filing deadline for the FY 2019-20 (AY 2020-21) for other taxpayers (for whom the original deadline under the ITA was 31 July 2020) has been further extended from 30 November 2020 to 31 December 2020. The payment deadline for self-assessment tax for other taxpayers whose self-assessment tax liabilities do not exceed INR 100,000 has also been extended to 31 December 2020.
- The deadline for furnishing audit reports has been extended from 31 October 2020 to 31 December 2020.
Annual GST returns and reconciliation statements
The filing deadline for annual GST returns (GSTR-9/GSTR-9A) and reconciliation statements (GSTR-9C) for FY 2018-19 has been further extended from 31 October 2020 to 31 December 2020.
Note: The filing of the FY 2018-19 GSTR-9/GSTR-9A is optional for taxpayers with aggregate turnover of less than INR 20 million, while the filing of the FY 2018-19 GSTR-9C is optional for taxpayers with aggregate turnover of up to INR 50 million.