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Chandigarh Chartered Accountants Taxation Association has made a request for extension of various due dates under Income-tax Act, 1961 for AY 2020- 21 and for filing the Annual Reconciliation Statement (GSTR9C) along with the annual return (GSTR9) for financial years 2018-2019 & 2019-2020. Full text of their Representation to Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, The Hon’ble Finance Minister is as follows:-

To
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman,
The Hon’ble Finance Minister,
Ministry of Finance,
Government of India,
North Block,
New Delhi-110 001.

Respected Madam,

Re: Request for extension of various due dates under Income-tax Act, 1961 for AY 2020- 21 and for filing the Annual Reconciliation Statement (GSTR9C) along with the annual return (GSTR9) for financial years 2018-2019 & 2019-2020

We appreciate the emergent steps taken by Government to provide the relief to the people and making all possible efforts for their well being to tackle the challenges faced by the country due to the unprecedented outbreak of Covid-19 Pandemic.

To mitigate the hardship faced by the tax payers due to unprecedented situation, government remained proactive by introducing The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act extending various due dates of statutory compliances. We hereby convey our grateful thanks for responding to the representations of our associations filed time to time, further hereby due date for furnishing of various audit reports under the Income Tax Act, including Tax Audit Report and report in respect of international/specified domestic transaction has also been extended to 31st December,2020. The due date for furnishing of Income Tax Returns for the taxpayers (Including their partners) who are required to get their accounts audited has also been extended to 31st January, 2021.

Ø Impact on audit and statutory compliance work due to Covid Restrictions

Due to the risk of Pandemic, restrictions are imposed by the Government/Local Authorities about staggering of work/business hours in offices, work places, shops, markets and industrial & commercial establishment; frequent sanitization of entire workplaces, common facilities and all points which come into human contact. All persons in charge of work places are expected to ensure adequate distance between workers, adequate gaps between shifts, staggering the lunch breaks of staff, etc. Persons aged 65 year or above are not allowed to move outside. All these restrictions coupled with the mandatory quarantine for period of 14 days of family members/other contact persons have placed several limitations on working efficiency/productivity of businesses and professional firms. Several Tax Professionals & Chartered Accountants themselves, their staff, family members, are either bereaved of their beloved ones or infected. Details, information, accounts required for completing audits and filing of I.T. returns are not being received promptly. Audit staff/assistants, who are back bone of doing the tax audit work, preparation of Tax Audit Reports/I.T. returns are feeling low and not able to regularly attend office of Tax professionals. Even clients are facing the similar limitations/restrictions. Till date we are not sure about, when these days will be over and we will be able to function normally.

Ø Extension of due dates under Income-tax Act, 1961:

As per the amendments carried out vide the Finance Act 2020 as also the subsequent notifications, the due dates for filing ITR forms and TAR for AY 2020-21 have been proactively extended to 31.01.2020 and 31.12.2020 respectively. For income-tax assessees who are not subject to any audit (for e.g. salaried taxpayers), the due date for filing the income-tax return for AY 2020-21 stands extended to 31st December, 2020.

Apart from the major issues arising due to COVIDI9 pandemic hampering compliances regarding filing of ITR forms and Tax audit reports, certain concerns like delay in release of online e-filing utilities & continuous and regular updating in the Schemas of the ITR/TAR Form filing utility and detailed information to be provided in notified ITR forms requires time, needs to be kept in mind for considering the due dates extension.

There is a genuine case for extension of due dates of ITR and TAR, Transfer Pricing report and all other reports under the Income-tax Act for A.Y. 2020-21.

It may be noted that the limitation dates for the completion of income-tax scrutiny proceedings which initially were due in the month of September 2020 have been extended to March 2021. There is no reason why the due dates for the above compliances for tax payers should also not be given the same benefit considering the similar grievances / circumstances.

Ø Extension of due dates under GST Act, 2017:

The current due date for filing the annual reconciliation statement (GSTR9C) along with the annual return (GSTR9) for financial years 2018-2019 & 2019-2020 is 31stDecember 2020.

The clarification in respect of the treatment of certain items to be presented in the GST Annual Return was provided as late as on 9thOctober 2020. Companies and consultants are also occupied in ensuring seamless implementation of the e-invoicing provisions with effect from 1stJanuary, 2021 for a large set of mid-sized taxpayers.

Additionally, the process of preparation of the reconciliation statement and the verification of the claims made by the taxpayer in the said reconciliation statement begins after the financial statements are finalised. For FY 2019-2020, the due dates for filing the financial statements with various regulatory authorities have been extended. Therefore, in the absence of finalised audited financial statements, the process of GST Audit cannot begin. Further, the GST Portal has enabled the filing of the GST Audit Reports for FY 2019-20 only a few days back.

In view of the above mentioned genuine difficulties faced by tax payers of the country, we humbly request you to kindly direct the CBDT to extend all the deadlines under the Income-tax Act for AY 2020-21 to 31st March, 2021 and to extend the due dates for FY 2018-19 & 2019-20 under GST Act also to 31st March, 2021.

Considering the unprecedented situation that all of us find ourselves in at the moment, there is an urgent need for a notification to be issued immediately for the extension of various due dates. If such announcements of extension are made at the eleventh hour, it causes immense stress and affects the health of all concerned.

It may be noted that the filing of the reconciliation statement and the annual return does not involve the payment of any GST. The taxes became due on monthly and quarterly basis and were paid in normal course. The process of filing the reconciliation statement and annual return would only result in small increment tax collections on account of inadvertent omissions made by the taxpayers. Therefore, the grant of the extension in due date is unlikely to have any significant impact on the revenue collections.

We hope that our suggestions would be favorably considered. We would be happy to explain the same over a video conferencing call if considered necessary by your good office.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

Chandigarh Chartered Accountants Taxation Association

CA Manoj Kohli

(Secretary)

Date: 16/12/2020

Place: Chandigarh

1. Hon. Shri Anurag Thakur, Minister of State, Finance

2. Shri P C Mody, Chairman, CBDT

Download Full text of the Representation in PDF Format

Also Read:-

S. No. Date Association Particulars with link
1 9 Dec 2020 Western Maharashtra Tax Practitioners Extend due dates of Tax Audit & ITR for AY 2020–21
2 12 Dec 2020 Gujarat Sales Tax Bar Extend GSTR-9/9A/9C due date for FY 2019-20 to 30/06/2021
3 12 Dec 2020 Chamber of Tax Consultants Extend due dates for Tax/Transfer Pricing Audit & ITR for AY 2020-21
4 12 Dec 2020 Tax Practitioner’s Association, Indore Extend due dates for filing Tax/TP Audit Report & ITR for AY 2020-21
5 14 Dec 2020 AGFTC, ITBC and CAA Extend due dates of Tax Audit Reports/ITR for A.Y. 2020-21
6 15 Dec 2020 BCAS, CAA (Ahmedabad), CAA (Surat), KSCAA & LCAS Request to Extend Due dates under GST & Income Tax
7 15 Dec 2020 Tax Bar Association, Bhilwara Request to extend Due Date of filing of Tax Audit & ITR
8 15 Dec 2020 Direct Taxes Professionals’ Association, Kolkata Extend due date of ITR & Tax Audit for AY 2020-21
9 16 Dec 2020 Lucknow CA Tax Practioners’ Association Extend Due date for filing Tax Audit Report & ITR
10 16 Dec 2020 Jamshedpur Chartered Accountants Extend Due Date of filing Tax Audit & ITR to 31.03.2021
11 13 Dec 2020 Direct Taxes Committee of ICAI ICAI requests for extension of various Income-tax due dates
12 10 Dec 2020 Udaipur Tax Bar Association Further extend due dates of ITR & Tax Audit Reports for FY 2019-20
13 15 Dec 2020 CA Social Affiliation (CASA) Extend Tax/TP Audit Report & ITR filing due date for AY 2020-21
14 19 Dec 2020 Chartered Accountants Association, Jalandhar Extend Due Dates for Tax Audit and Income Tax Return Filing
15 19 Dec 2020 All India Federation of Tax Practitioners (CZ) Request for extension of due dates of Tax Audit Reports/ITR
16 19 Dec 2020 Vyyapaar Mandal Association, Nagore & AIMTPA Extended Income Tax & GST Audit/Return/Compliance dates
17 17 Dec 2020 Emerging Businesses Chamber Of Commerce Extend due dates for Income Tax Audit & Returns for AY 2020-21
18 Dec 2020 The Uttar Pradesh Tax Bar Association Representation for Extension of time for Tax Audit & Return
19 19 Dec 2020 Tax Bar Association, Guwahati Extend Tax Audit/ITR due dates for AY 2020-21
20 21 Dec 2020 Tax Bar Association, Guwahati Extend due dates of GSTR-9/ GSTR-9C for FY 2018-19 & 2019-20
21 17 Dec 2020 Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association Waive Late Fees for Delayed Filing of GST Returns
22 15 Dec 2020 Direct Taxes Professionals’ Association Extend Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme due date to 15.03.2021
23 15 Dec 2020 Direct Taxes Professionals’ Association Extend due date of AGM to 31st March 2021
24 15 Dec 2020 Association of Tax payers & Professional, Agra Extend due of GSTR-9, GSTR-9A & GSTR-9C
25 08 Dec 2020 Tax Bar Association (Regd), Allahabad Extend due date of ITR/Tax Audit/GSTR-9/GSTR-9C
26 08 Dec 2020 Tax Consultant & Practitioners Association of Kerala Extend due of ITR, GSTR 9, 9A & 9C for FY 2018-19 & 2019-20
27 21 Dec 2020 Tax Bar Association, Guwahati Extend CFSS 2020 & LLP Settlement Scheme 2020 to 31.03.2021
28 22 Dec 2020 Income Tax Bar Association, Lucknow Extend Time for filing ITR & Audit Report for A.Y 2020-21
28 22 Dec 2020 53 GST and Trade Associations 53 Associations requests Extension for GSTR 9, 9A & 9C
29 16 Dec 2020 Chandigarh Chartered Accountants Taxation Association Extend Income Tax & GST Return & Audit due dates
30 22 Dec 2020 Bhayander CA Social Group Request to extend Due date of Annual GST Return & Audit
31 22 Dec 2020 Luminaires Accessories Components Manufacturers Association Extend due dates for Tax Audit & Income Tax Return filing for AY 2020-21
32 22 Dec 2020 All Professionals, Tax Payers and Stakeholders Open letter for extension of Due dates under Income Tax and GST
33 22 Dec 2020 Punjab Accountants Association Extend due date for filing ITR & Tax Audit Report- AY 2020-21
34 22 Dec 2020 Bhayander CA Social Group Extend Income Tax Audit & ITR Due dates for AY 2020-21
35 23 Dec 2020 The Tax Bar Association, Odisha Extend due dates of Audit Reports, ITRs, GST Returns, VSV Scheme
36 21 Dec 2020 Sales Tax Bar Association, Delhi Extend Tax/TP Audit & ITR Due dates for AY 2020-21
37 23 Dec 2020 Direct Taxes Professionals’ Association Extend Income Tax, Companies & CGST Act compliance due dates
38 24 Dec 2020 ICSI Extend due dates of CFSS, LLPSS, Charge Forms, Meetings
39 24 Dec 2020 All Odisha Tax Advocates Association Extend due date for filing TAR/ITR/GSTR9/9A/9C
40 25 Dec 2020 BJP Economic Cell, Rajasthan Extend Income Tax, GST, LLP, Company Law due dates
41 23 Dec 2020 Hyderabad Chartered Accountants’ Society Extend Due date under GST and Income Tax
42 22 Dec 2020 A. P. Tax Bar Association, Vijayawada Extend date of filing of GSTR 9, GSTR 9C and IT returns
43 03 Jan 2021 National Company Law Tribunal Bar Association Representation for further extension of CFSS 2020
44 25 Nov 2020 Merchants Chamber of Uttar Pradesh Request for extension of Company Fresh Start Scheme 2020
45 04 Jan 2021 Adv. Anuj Bhatt Request to President to take Suo-Moto cognizance of GST Issues
46 03 Jan 2021 The Chamber of Tax Consultants Extend Income-tax due dates with humane approach
47 01 Jan 2021 WMTPA Highly Disappointing GST Audit Due Date Extension
48 01 Jan 2021 The A.P. Tax Bar Association, Vijayawada Extend due date of Form GSTR 9 and 9C for year 2018-19

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One Comment

  1. CA VIJAY AGGARWAL says:

    PLEASE DO ANNOUNCE EXTENSION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AS IT IS ALWAYS IN NATIONAL INTEREST IF PROFESSIONALS WORKING IS NOT KEPT UNDER UNDUE STRESS. REPRESENTATION MADE MAY KINDLY BE SENSITIVELY CONSIDERED.

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