Central Board of Direct Taxes on Sunday said that it has revised income tax return (ITR) forms so that the income taxpayers can avail full benefits of various timeline extensions given by the government amid coronavirus crisis. The required changes have been initiated by the CBDT so that taxpayers could take benefits of their investments and transactions from April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020 while filing their income tax returns for FY20. "In order to enable income taxpayers to avail full benefits of various timeline extensions granted by the Government of India due to COVID-19 pandemic situations, the CBDT is revising the return forms for FY 2019-20 (Assessment Year 2020-21) which shall be notified by the end of this month," the Finance Ministry said in a release. The government has extended various timelines under Income-tax Act, 1961 due to coronavirus lockdown. India is currently under a lockdown until May 3.
The return filing utility after including the necessary revisions would be made available by May 31 to get benefits. "Once the revised forms are notified, it will further necessitate the consequential changes in the software and return filing utility. Hence, the return filing utility after incorporating necessary changes shall be made available by 31st May, 2020 to avail benefits for FY 2019-20," the CBDT also said.
Earlier last week, the income tax department on Monday said employees will have to inform their employers about their intention to opt for the new optional tax regime to enable the latter to deduct TDS while paying salaries.
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