Tax reliefs under IT Act: Extension of various deadlines for tax compliances

Ashish M. Shaji

29 Jun, 2021

The Indian government announced several tax reliefs under the income tax act recently. It granted an extension in timelines of compliances under the IT Act due to the covid-19 pandemic. The finance ministry issued a detailed notification regarding the tax exemptions. In this article, we shall take a look at the various tax reliefs announced. 

Tax reliefs under IT act: Tax exemption on treatment of Covid-19

The government observed that numerous taxpayers had received financial assistance from their employers etc., for meeting the expenses of covid-19 treatment. The government announced that there wouldn’t be any tax liability on such amounts.

Extension of key deadlines

Apart from the tax exemptions, the ministry also extended certain key deadlines of tax compliances. One of the most important extension of the deadline relates to the linking of PAN and Aadhaar Card. It has been extended by 3 months.

Further, the time to invest in residential house for tax deduction is extended by more than 3 months, and the Vivad se Vishwas payment without interest is extended by 2 months. 

Tax reliefs under IT Act: Key relaxations

Some of the key relaxations are as follows:

• Objections to dispute resolution panel and assessing officer as per section 144C of the IT Act for which the last date to file is June 1^st, 2021 or thereafter, can be filed within the time provided in that section or by Aug 31^st  2021, whichever is later.
• The statement of the deduction of tax for last quarter of the FY 2020-21, which had to be furnished on or prior to 31^st May 2021 as per Rule 31A of the Income Tax Rules 1962, as extended to June 30^th 2021, can be furnished on or prior to 15^th July 2021.
• The certificate of the tax deducted at Source (TDS) in Form 16, required to be furnished to the employee by June 15^th under rule 31 of the Income Tax Rules 1962^[1], as extended to 15^th July 2021, can be furnished on or before July 31, 2021.
• The statement of income paid/credited by an investment fund to its unit holder in form 64D for the year 2021-21, required to be furnished on or before June 15 as extended to June 30^th 2021, can be furnished on or before July 15, 2021.
•  The Statement of the Income paid or credited by an investment fund to the unitholder in Form 64C for the Previous Year 2020-21, required to be furnished on or prior to 30th June 2021 as per Rule 12CB of the Income Tax Rules 1962, as extended to 15th July 2021, can be furnished on or before July 31st, 2021.
• Application under Sections 10(23C), 12AB, 35(1)(ii)/(iia)/(iii) and 80G of the IT Act in Form 10A/ Form No.10AB, for registration/ provisional registration/ intimation/ approval/ provisional approval of Trusts/ Institutions/ Research Associations etc., to be made on or before 30th June, 2021, can now be made on or before 31st August, 2021.
• Compliances by the taxpayers like investment, deposit, payment, acquisition, purchase, construction or such other action, by whatever name called, for claiming any exemption under the provisions specified in Section 54 to 54GB of the Act, for which the last date falls between April 1st, 2021 to September 29th, 2021 (both days inclusive), can be completed on or before September 30th, 2021.
• The Quarterly Statement in Form 15CC to be furnished by authorized dealer pertaining to remittances made for the quarter ending on June 30th, 2021, to be furnished on or before July 15th, 2021 as per Rule 37 BB of the income tax rules, can be provided on or before July 31st, 2021.
• The Equalization Levy Statement in Form 1 for the FY 2020-21, required to be filed on or before June 30th, 2021, can be furnished on or before July 31st, 2021.
• The Annual Statement to be furnished under sub-section (5) of section 9A of the IT Act by eligible investment fund in Form 3CEK for the FY 2020-21, required to be filed on or before June 29th, 2021, can be furnished on or before July 31st, 2021.
• Uploading declarations received from the recipients in Form 15G/15H during the quarter ending June 30th, 2021, required to be uploaded on or before July 15th, 2021, can be uploaded before August 31st, 2021.
• Exercising of the option to withdraw pending application (filed before erstwhile Income Tax Settlement Commission) under sub-section (1) of Section 245M of the IT Act in Form 34BB, required to be exercised on or before June 27th, 2021, can be exercised on or prior to July 31st, 2021.
• Last date to link Aadhaar with PAN under section 139AA of the IT Act, which was extended to 30th June 2021, is now further extended to September 30th, 2021.
• The last day to pay the amount under Vivad se Vishwas (without additional amount) that was earlier extended to June 30th, 2021, is now further extended to August 31st, 2021.
• The last day to pay the amount under Vivad se Vishwas (with additional amount) is now notified as October 31st, 2021.
• The time limit to pass assessment order, earlier extended to 30th June 2021, is now extended to September 30th, 2021.
• The time limit to pass penalty order, earlier extended to June 30^th, 2021, is now extended to September 30th, 2021.
• The time limit to process equalisation levy returns, earlier extended to June 30th, 2021, is now extended to September 30th, 2021.

Conclusion

The covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in the lives of common man. These tax reliefs are provided by extending various deadlines as a measure to ease taxpayer compliances in times such as these.

Read our article:Scope and Implications of Section 206AA of the Income Tax Act