Good news for companies as the government of India on Monday extended the last date for filing of income tax returns and audit reports for assessment year 2018-19 by a fortnight from September 30 to October 15. Despite the relief in date of ITR filing, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that there will be no relaxation on part of the interest calculated for the period beyond September 30. Several industry players have welcomed the decision by the Central government but also wants October 31 to be the due date for filing IT returns.

“Upon consideration of representations from various stakeholders, the CBDT extends the 'due date' for filing of ITR as well as reports of audit (which were required to be filed by the said specified date) from September 30 to October 15 in respect of the said categories of taxpayers," the CBDT said in its statement.

"However, there shall be no extension of the due date for the purpose of section 234A (Explanation 1) of the I.T. Act, 1961 pertaining to interest for defaults in furnishing return, and the assessee shall remain liable for payment of interest as per provisions of section 234A of the Act,” the statement read further.

A Patna-based Chartered Accountant Agnesh Kumar Gupta told news agency IANS that the extension of 15 days is not enough and the government should have allowed time till October 31. “The government allowed 30 days extension in case of ITR for individual taxpayers but for companies, where ITR filing is more complex, the extension is just not enough. This is despite the change in tax audit forms in August," Gupta added further.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) thanked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for the extension. “It's a very needed step of the government since traders across country were under great stress due to other government compliances. It will give a breather to traders... However, it would be better if the date is extended up to October 31,” the CAIT federation said.