Income Tax payers alert! New ITR forms to be released soon; here is what you should know

Income tax payers will soon have access to revised income tax return (ITR) forms for the assessment year 2020-21 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The government had pushed the last date to file income tax returns till June 30 in the wake of current situation. Now, it is set to release new forms. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Sunday (April 19) has said that it will revise the income tax return forms for the assessment year 2020-21. It further said that the revision will be notified by the end of this month.

"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 Ministry of Finance said in a statement. 

The initial deadline for filing income tax returns was March 31. This was extended till June 30. The new forms would allow taxpayers to enjoy the benefits of the transactions being carried out by them during April 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020, CBDT said.

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“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,” it said.

India is set to remain under lockdown till May 3, as per the announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government has also extended various timelines including those relating to investments and expenses under Section 80C. The deadline to make payments for claiming deduction under Section 80C (LIC, PPF, NSC, mutual funds, etc.), 80D (Mediclaim), 80G (Donations), etc for FY 2019-20 has been extended till June 30.