COVID-19 Relief - Extension of Due Dates 2.0 (Direct Tax)

As a relief for taxpayers to help cope with Covid-19, FM Nirmala Sitharaman with the Income Tax Department, CBDT, and Finance Ministry announced the second wave of Direct Tax due date extension on 24th June 2020.

Income Tax Due Date Extension

Chapter VIA deductions

Taxpayers can continue to claim deductions under Chapter VIA-B for Tax Saving investments like ELSS, NPS, Tax Saving Fixed Deposits and Payments like Medical insurance payments, LIC premiums, children tuition fees, etc made till 31st July 2020 for FY 2019-20.

FY 2019-20 - TDS Return of 4th Quarter

The due date to file TDS return for Jan-March 2020 is extended to 31st July. Usually, salaried individuals receive their Form 16 within 15 days of their employers filing TDS Return, employees can expect to receive their Form 16 by 15th August 2020.

Belated Return for FY 2018-19

Taxpayers can file a belated return for transactions done between 1st April 2018 to 31st March 2019 i.e FY 2018-19 (AY 2019-20). Once you file a belated return you can claim the refund for any excess TDS deducted and deposited on your behalf.

Revised Return for FY 2018-19

Taxpayers can file a Revised return to rectify the details such as incomes, losses, balance sheet, etc reported while filing the original Income Tax Return.

Taxpayers like investors and traders can also carry forward losses by filing a revised return, provided they have filed the initial ITR before the due date. The due date to file ITR for FY 2018-19 was 31st August in case when tax audit was not applicable.

Investment for Rollover benefit of Capital Gains

Taxpayers having capital gains from sale of house property, land, etc in FY 2019-20 can continue to make specific investments to claim the rollover benefit and reducing their tax liability.

No Interest u/s 234A delay in Tax payment

If the self-assessment tax liability of a taxpayer is below INR 1 Lakh, then the interest penalty will not be levied u/s 234A for late filing of ITR of FY 2019-20.

However, in case the self-assessment tax liability is above INR 1 lakh this relief will not be applicable.

Link PAN with Aadhaar

It is mandatory to link your PAN with Aadhaar. However, the due date for the same has been extended from 30th June 2020 to 31st March 2021, giving taxpayers additional 9 months.

From April 1, 2019, it is mandatory to quote and link Aadhaar number while filing Income Tax Return (ITR) unless specifically exempted. Thus, an individual cannot file their ITR without linking their Aadhaar to their PAN.

Availment of Vivad se Vishwas Scheme

Vivad se Vishwas Scheme is an initiative by the Government to put an end to pending direct tax disputes of Taxpayers. The Scheme aims to cater to all the taxpayers having income tax disputes in India.

Taxpayers having an extension of an additional 6 months to avail benefits of Vivad Se Vishwas for settlement of Tax disputes. The due date for the same is extended from 30th June 2020 to 31st December 2020.

Note: There is no additional extension for Income Tax compliance due dates for FY 2019-20 (AY 2020-19).

Due dates is 31st October to file Tax Audit Report and 30th November to file ITR.

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TDS Due Date Extension

FY 2019-20 - TDS/TCS Statement

The due date to file TDS and TCS statements for FY 2019-20 have been extended from 30th June to now 31st July 2020. Giving deductors like employers, banks, companies, tenants, etc an additional 1 month to file TDS & TCS statements for FY 2019-20.

Interest on Belated Tax Payment

Interest on belated Tax Payment was reduced from 12% to 9% as announced on 31st March 2020.

This relief has been rolled back, and interest penalty for belated tax payment continues to be 12% from 30th June 2020.