The Chandigarh Chartered Accountants Taxation Association (CCATAX) has submitted a formal request to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) seeking an extension for the due dates of Income Tax Return (ITR) filing and tax audits for Assessment Year 2025–26. The association highlights several challenges faced by taxpayers and professionals that have made it difficult to meet the current deadlines. These include the delayed release of ITR utilities, which were made available three months late, persistent technical issues on the income tax portal such as server crashes and data mismatches, and widespread disruptions caused by heavy monsoon rains and flooding in various states. Additionally, recent changes in financial statement formats by the ICAI have required further time for adaptation. CCATAX argues that these combined hardships risk inaccurate submissions and non-compliance, and that granting the requested extensions would ensure smoother, more reliable tax administration.
CHANDIGARH CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS TAXATION ASSOCIATION
Regd. Office: SCO 1004-05, Sector 22B, Chandigarh – 160022
Phone: +919814006841 | Email: ccataxchd@gmail.com
Ref No: CCATA/2025/ITR-EXT/001
Date: August 21, 2025
To:
The Hon’ble Chairman,
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
North Block,
New Delhi – 110001
Subject: Humble Request for Extension of Income Tax Return Filing and Tax Audit Due Dates for Assessment Year 2025–26
Respected Sir/Madam,
1. Introduction
The Chandigarh Chartered Accountants Taxation Association (CCATAX), representing a wide body of practicing Chartered Accountants, tax professionals, and stakeholders from Chandigarh and adjoining regions of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and beyond, respectfully submits this representation for your kind consideration.
Our members work closely with taxpayers and businesses to ensure timely and accurate compliance under the Income Tax Act. In this spirit, we wish to highlight the genuine practical difficulties being faced during the current filing season. While we deeply appreciate the Income Tax Department’s efforts to strengthen digital infrastructure and simplify procedures, the exceptional challenges prevailing in Assessment Year 2025–26 have made it extremely difficult to adhere to statutory timelines.
2. Present Compliance Environment
The current filing season has been adversely affected by delayed release of return utilities, unresolved portal glitches, widespread monsoon disruptions, and reduced working days due to festivals. These constraints have placed taxpayers and professionals under immense pressure and risk of non-compliance.
3. Status of Return Filing
As per publicly available data, only 3.35 crore returns have been filed as of August 20, 2025, compared to 7.41 crore returns filed by July 31, 2024 in the previous year. This reflects a shortfall of 4.06 crore returns (nearly 55%), with just 25 days remaining until the current deadline of September 15, 2025.
The required daily filing rate now exceeds 15 lakh returns, which is operationally unfeasible.
4. Delayed Utilities
For FY 2024–25, the release of Income Tax Return (ITR) and Tax Audit utilities has been delayed by around three months, with rollout beginning only in July 2025. These delays, coupled with frequent changes in schema and formats, have significantly disrupted the compliance process.
- Software vendors require adequate time to update their systems.
- Professionals need time to interpret and implement these changes.
- Taxpayers and practitioners are left with an extremely compressed window to complete filings.
Technically, a 45-day compliance period is insufficient to ensure accurate, reconciled, and error-free submissions—especially when compounded by portal issues, format changes, and natural disruptions.
5. Technical Issues on Portal
Despite ongoing improvements, the income tax portal continues to face:
- Server crashes
- Session timeouts
- Upload failures
- Data mismatches in AIS and Form 26AS
These problems hinder reconciliation and compromise filing accuracy.
6. Natural Calamities
Heavy rains and flooding have severely impacted Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Bihar, Assam, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra.
In these regions, taxpayers and professionals have faced power outages, internet disruptions, and office inaccessibility, making compliance nearly impossible.
7. Recent Format Changes by ICAI
The ICAI has introduced a new format for financial statements for non-corporate entities, effective FY 2024–25. Key changes include:
- A standardized vertical format for Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Account
- Mandatory comparative figures from the previous year
These changes require adaptation, training, and software updates, thereby slowing compliance.
8. Hardship to Taxpayers and Professionals
The combined impact of the above factors has made timely filing extremely difficult. In flood-affected areas, taxpayers cannot access professional services, while elsewhere professionals are struggling to reconcile and file returns.
The compressed timeline risks rushed submissions, inaccurate reporting, and inadvertent errors—none of which serve the interests of taxpayers or the Department.
9. Requested Extensions
In view of genuine hardships, we respectfully request the following extensions:
| Category | Current Due Date | Requested Extension |
| Non-Audit Cases | September 15, 2025 | October 31, 2025 |
| Audit Cases | October 31, 2025 | December 31, 2025 |
| Tax Audit Reports | September 30, 2025 | November 30, 2025 |
| Revised & Belated Returns | December 31, 2025 | March 31, 2026 |
10. Benefits of Granting Extensions
- Ensures accurate and complete compliance
- Allows time for reconciliation with AIS and Form 26AS
- Facilitates smooth transition to revised formats
- Provides relief to flood-affected regions
- Improves quality and reliability of reported data
- Strengthens overall tax administration and revenue collection 4
11. Concluding Appeal
In light of the exceptional circumstances outlined above, we humbly appeal to the CBDT to kindly grant the requested extensions.
A timely notification will ease the burden on taxpayers and professionals and help preserve the integrity of the compliance process for Assessment Year 2025–26.
With highest regards,
Yours faithfully,
For Chandigarh Chartered Accountants Taxation Association (CCATAX)
CA/CMA Dr BALWINDER SINGH
President Chandigarh Chartered Accountants Taxation Association
(Ex- Chairman, Chandigarh Branch, ICAI)
Mobile: +919814168636Email balwinder@costaccountant.in
CA MANOJ KOHLI
Secretary
Chandigarh Chartered Accountants Taxation Association
(Ex- Chairman, Chandigarh Branch, ICAI)
Mobile: +91-9814006841 Email: camkohli@gmail.com
