Non-extension of deadline for Tax Audit leaves CAs with mountain to climb

Chartered accountants are a worried lot. With Central Board for Direct Taxes refusing to extend the September 30 deadline for filing returns in case of tax audit, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has decided to move the finance ministry seeking relief. Manoj Fadnis, president, ICAI will meet finance minister in Delhi to explain problems caused by CBDTs stand on Tuesday even as efforts are on in various high courts to obtain relief.

Sifting through various documents submitted by clients in his office near Bunts Hostel, chartered accountant Raviraj B shows the strain. Assesses required to get their accounts audited take services of CAs. Due to delay in announcement of ITRs, it is natural that CAs were busy filing returns of salaried class and small businessmen during the August, he says. "Now, assesses are putting pressure on us to give tax audit reports within reduced time of 23 days," he points.

Raviraj told TOI that assessesget period of six months from end of previous financial year to file their return of income as per the Income Tax Act. Assessees can file return any time between April 1 and September 3 of the assessment year. Assesses can file their returns only if Income Tax Return forms (ITR forms) as well as schema for e-filing of the returns are made available on April 1. In addition, the income tax e-filing site has to be e-enabled to accept such returns.

Pointing to current problem, he says assesses whose accounts are required to be compulsorily audited are large tax payers. They have to get tax audit report from CAs. CBDT should give such large taxpayers special privileges since they contribute higher taxes to exchequer. Instead the CBDT has issued a press release saying that the forms have been notified sufficiently early, giving enough time for compliance. Hence, the due date will not be extended, he points.

CBDT is duty bound to release the ITRs, the schema and e-enable the tax filing website well before April 1. Even though the budget is passed in May 2014 for the A Y 2015-16, the CBDT has taken nearly 14 months to release the forms, without much change. While the citizens have the deadlines, the CBDT has no such deadline to release the ITRs, he said. "For their failure, tax payers are put to hardship and are deprived of their right vested in them by the Act," he rues.

For the current assessment year, ITR forms were announced on July 29 and e-filing website of the department was ready only on August 7. This has resulted in artificially limiting period of six months made available by the Act to 54 days or around 1.7 months. Taking into consideration right of six months' time provided in the Act, due date for A Y 2015-16 should be extended to February 7, 2016, he said adding action of the department is blatantly against provisions of Act. (Times of India)