The Delhi High Court has issued notice in a plea seeking a direction to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to extend the date of filing of Income Tax Return (ITR) and Tax Audit Report (TAR) for assessment year 2018-2019 by assessees who are required to file the same by September 30, 2018.

The Petitioner seeks an extension in the due date of filing the ITR as prescribed under Section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act 1961 and furnishing TAR under Section 44 AB of the Act, in tune with the extent of delay in notifying the prescribed Income Tax Forms under Rule 12 of the Income Tax Rules 1962.

CBDT has already extended the deadline from September 30 to October 15. However, the Petitioner seeks a further extension till December 31, 2018.

The Petition filed by Foundation of Tax and Accounting Professionals argues that CBDT is obligated to ensure that the forms etc. which are to be prescribed for filing the ITR as well as TAR are available as on April 1 of the assessment year.

However, in the present case, the ITR and TAR form (3CA, 3CB and 3CD) were are available for filing after the delay of 141 days, on August 22, 2018.

It is thus the Petitioner’s case that the time available for “completion and filing of the ITR/TAR is too less as compared to the statutory available period.”

The Petition filed through Advocates Gagan Kumar and Amit Kaushik also bring to the Court’s notice that ITR, as well as TAR form, has been amended extensively and the latest updation to its utility was done as late as September 19, 2018.

It is, therefore, argued that CBDT is expected to exercise its discretionary powers vested under Section 119 of the Act “to ameliorate the difficulties faced by the assessees on account of no default on their part, at least to a certain extent, by extending the due date for filing the income tax returns for a reasonable time.”

“..non-extension of the period for filing of ITR/TAR may not only result into very genuine hardship to the taxpayers but also, created genuine difficulties on the part of the professionals, some of whom also fall in this bracket of assessees.”, the Petition reads.

The Petitioner has therefore sought for appropriate directions to extend the deadline for filing ITR and TAR for AY 2018-2019 by assessees.

The matter would be next heard on October 9.