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The last date to file an ITR is July 31, No plans to extend the deadline

On Monday, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said that there are no plans by the government to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns beyond 31. The number of ITR filings was close to 2.5 crores till Monday.

Many people are hoping that the deadline will be extended beyond the date but Bajaj has declined it by pointing out last year’s situation when the government refused to extend the deadline for filing ITR beyond the December 31 deadline. Last year, however, the government eased the date because of the second wave of Covid 19 that had affected individuals and businesses during the April-July quarter. Generally, several individuals file ITR after the deadline for which they have to pay a penalty.

According to tax department officials, the speed of filing returns has already sped up in recent days. On Thursday alone, an estimated 17 lakhs of ITR were filed. The department expects the number of filings will climb up to 25-30 lakhs in the upcoming days. Moreover, there is an accumulation of returns during the last week because a huge number of filings have been done in the last few days.

Last year, the tax portal faced some glitches which was also a reason for extending the deadline but now most of the problems have been solved, tax officials said.

Tax department officials have advised the individuals to match the data with the annual information statement to ensure that they do not miss any investments and purchases.