CBDT has extended various dates for compliances under I.T. Act, 1961 to address the hardship faced by various stakeholders due to COVID 19 . It has notified these extensions via Circular No. 9/2021 through press release dated 20th May, 2021. It is worth mentioning that last year also the government had extended timelines related to income tax return filing amid the pandemic-led nationwide lockdown.

The extension is indeed a relief for corporates. The tax withholding on salary for AY 21-22 had added complexities in terms of determining taxable employer contributions to PF, NPS and Superannuation, identifying and reporting interest accretions on the same, enabling employees to avail the deemed Leave Travel Concessions etc. The extension of timeline to file the quarterly e-TDS returns from 31 May to 30 June and the issue of Form 16 from 15 June to 15 July is therefore a boon for many. We are hoping to see further extensions like this in the coming future.

CBDT has extended the due dates of filing of several forms. For the convenience of the user, all the information has been compiled in the form of a table below: –

S No.	Particulars	Previous	Extension
1
	Statement of financial transactions u/s 285BA read with Rule 114E in Form 61A.	31st May 2021	30th June 2021
2
	Statement of Reportable Account under Rule 114G by a reporting financial institution.	31st May 2021	30th June 2021
3
	Statement of TDS for the quarter ended 31st March 2021.	31st May 2021	30th June 2021
4
	Statement of TDS on contributions made by Trustees of an approved Superannuation Fund for FY 20-21.	31st May 2021	30th June 2021
5
	TDS/TCS Book Adjustment Statement for the month of May 2021 by PAO /CDDO /DTO or an equivalent office.	15th June 2021	15th July 2021
6
	Issuing of TDS Certificate under Form 16.	15th June 2021	15th July 2021
7
	Statement of Income paid or credited by investment funds to unit holders for Previous Year 2020-21 in Form No 64D.	15th June 2021	30th June 2021
8
	Statement of Income paid or credited by investment funds to unit holders for Previous Year 2020-21 in Form No 64C.	30th June 2021	15th July 2021
9
	ITR of Assessee who are not liable for Tax audit for FY 2020-21.	31st July 2021	30th Sept 2021
10
	ITR of Assessee who are required to submit Report of Audit under any Provision of Income Tax Act for FY 2020-21.	30th Sept 2021	31st Oct 2021
11
	Due date of furnishing report for any international transaction or specified domestic transaction under section 92E of the Act for the FY 2020-21.	30th Nov 2021	31st Dec 2021
12
	Due date for furnishing Return u/s 92E.	30th Nov 2021	31st Dec 2021
13
	Corporate Assessee/ Firms/ Partners of firms/ any Assessee other than corporate or firms whose accounts are required to be audited.	31st Oct 2021	30th Nov 2021
14
	Due dates for furnishing Belated/ Revised Returns for F.Y. 2020-21.	31st Dec 2021	31st Jan 2022

Note:

It shall be noted that extension has been provided in case of issuing Form 16. But there is no extension for issuing of form 16A.

Conclusion

To conclude, we can say that these extensions can be seen as a gesture of relief from the CBDT. It has made the tedious work easier. And now the course of action can be planned and executed in the manner as it could have been executed if it was not affected by lockdown.

Written by
Ashutosh Poddar
Articled Clerk