Mumbai/Singapore: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Tuesday extended the deadline for filing income tax returns for assessment year 2012-13 to August 31. 2012. The earlier deadline was July 31, 2012.
CBDT said it was extending the deadline given the disturbance in routine life due to failure of power as well as the fact that e-filing has now been made mandatory for individuals and Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).
The North India power grid collapsed on Monday, July 30, affecting about 370 million people in seven states. On July 31, the deadline for filing returns, the North, East, and NorthEast grids collapsed, leaving at least 19 states and about 600 million people without electrical power.
“This has been done in respect of assesses who are liable to file such returns by 31st July 2012 as per provisions of section 139 of Income Tax Act, 1961,” CBDT said in a statement.
Under Rule 12 of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, if the total income of an individual or HUF exceeds Rs 10 lakh in the previous year, such returns must mandatorily be filed electronically, starting assessment year 2012-13.
In a separate announcement, CBDT also relaxed the mandatory e-filing of returns for agents of NRIs and ‘private discretionary trusts’ due to shortcomings in the e-filing software.
CBDT said that agents of non-residents are facing difficulties in e-filing returns of non-residents in cases where an NRI has more than one agent, or where the agent has more than one NRI client. Such situations, it said, are not covered by the existing e-filing software which functions on the principle of one assessee-one PAN-one return.
It also found that ‘private discretionary trusts’ with income of more than Rs 10 lakh are facing problems in filing their return in the status of an individual. CBDT said the e-filing software does not accept the return of a private discretionary trust in the status of an ‘individual’.
CBDT said it was extending the deadline given the disturbance in routine life due to failure of power as well as the fact that e-filing has now been made mandatory for individuals and Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).
The North India power grid collapsed on Monday, July 30, affecting about 370 million people in seven states. On July 31, the deadline for filing returns, the North, East, and NorthEast grids collapsed, leaving at least 19 states and about 600 million people without electrical power.
“This has been done in respect of assesses who are liable to file such returns by 31st July 2012 as per provisions of section 139 of Income Tax Act, 1961,” CBDT said in a statement.
Under Rule 12 of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, if the total income of an individual or HUF exceeds Rs 10 lakh in the previous year, such returns must mandatorily be filed electronically, starting assessment year 2012-13.
In a separate announcement, CBDT also relaxed the mandatory e-filing of returns for agents of NRIs and ‘private discretionary trusts’ due to shortcomings in the e-filing software.
CBDT said that agents of non-residents are facing difficulties in e-filing returns of non-residents in cases where an NRI has more than one agent, or where the agent has more than one NRI client. Such situations, it said, are not covered by the existing e-filing software which functions on the principle of one assessee-one PAN-one return.
It also found that ‘private discretionary trusts’ with income of more than Rs 10 lakh are facing problems in filing their return in the status of an individual. CBDT said the e-filing software does not accept the return of a private discretionary trust in the status of an ‘individual’.
