Several trade and professional associations have urged the government to extend the deadlines for filing income tax returns (ITR), citing a mix of technical glitches, GST-related changes, and recent flood disruptions across states.
The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has formally requested that the deadline for non-audit cases be pushed from September 15 to October 30. For audit cases, it has suggested extending the current October 30 cut-off to December 31.
According to GCCI’s direct tax committee chairman, Jainik Vakil, businesses are struggling with the transition to GST 2.0, which has brought major changes in rates and compliance. “Industries are still realigning systems, ERP modules, and contracts. Tax professionals are investing considerable time in helping businesses adapt to these revisions, which is stretching resources during an already tight compliance season,” Vakil said. He added that the workload has been further intensified by ongoing festive holidays, staff shortages, and disruptions caused by heavy rains and flood-like situations in several regions.
Supporting the demand, Harish Panchal, former president of the Gujarat Sales Tax Bar Association, highlighted persistent issues with the income tax e-filing portal. “Utilities were released late, the portal is slow, and Annual Information Statement (AIS) mismatches are delaying filings for many taxpayers,” Panchal noted.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has also echoed these concerns. The Central India Regional Council and its Ahmedabad branch have pressed for an extension in the audit return deadlines. ICAI Ahmedabad chairman CA Nirav Agrawal pointed out that along with technical glitches, the reduced GST rates have significantly increased the compliance workload for professionals this year.
With mounting pressure from industry bodies, tax practitioners, and professional associations, the government faces growing calls to revise the ITR deadlines to ease the compliance burden on taxpayers and businesses already grappling with multiple challenges.
