Last date for filing income tax returns extended to August 31

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Tuesday extended the 'due date' for filing of income tax returns from 31 July to 31 August, 2019. The development comes amid reports circulating on social media about "large-scale changes" in the forms troubling taxpayers. It also follows the extension of the deadline for employers to give Form 16 to their employees to 10 July, 2019 from 15 June, 2019.

"The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) extends the 'due date' for filing of Income Tax Returns from 31st July, 2019 to 31st August, 2019 in respect of certain categories of taxpayers who were liable to file their Returns by 31.07.2019," the Income Tax India wrote on its official Twitter handle.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) extends the ‘due date’ for filing of Income Tax Returns from 31st July, 2019 to 31st August, 2019 in respect of certain categories of taxpayers who were liable to file their Returns by 31.07.2019.

— Income Tax India (@IncomeTaxIndia) July 23, 2019

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Timely filing of income tax returns may thousands of rupees which government imposes on individual as late fine. While an individual would have to pay a late fee of Rs 5,000 for filling ITR by December 31, Rs 10,000 will be levied on those who will complete the process between 1 January and 31 March.

For those unserved, all the citizens except those ageing above 80, the ITR filing shoule be done online and not on paper. Also, it is crucial for the first-time filers to be able to differentiate between FY and AY. FY is the year in which an income is made while AY is the year in which income is assessed and returns are filed.