ITR filing big update: Only 4 days left! Govt expects 1 crore Income Tax Returns on last date

ITR login: The deadline to file Income Tax Return (ITR) is just around the corner. And the government has made it clear that it is not considering extending the ITR filing last date. The government is hopeful that taxpayers (who do not need to get their accounts audited) will file their returns before the last date which is July 31.

Notably, the government over the last two financial years extended the ITR filing last date to grant additional time to the taxpayers to file their returns. The extension was perhaps given due to the Covid-19 pandemic and technical issues with the ITR filing portal.  

However, the situation is not the same this time. If the ITR filing last date is not extended this year, it would be the first time in three years. "So far, there is no thinking of extending the last date of filing," Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said last week, according to a PTI report.

ITR filing date extended ?

According to the Revenue Secretary, feedback received from taxpayers is that the return form has become very easy to file and that refunds are also quick.

It is worth mentioning here that the Income Tax department had on June 7 last year launched a new I-T filing portal. The department argues that the portal is "very robust to take the increased loads."

Data suggest that over 50 lakh ITRs were filed on the last date last time. This time as well, the Revenue Secretary said, that the last date could see huge traffic on the I-T filing portal, expecting around 1 crore returns on July 31.

"This time, I have told my people to be ready for 1 crore (returns filed on the last day)," he had said.

According to the Income Tax Department data release on Wednesday, over 3.4 crore ITRs have been filed till July 26 and about 30 lakh ITRs were filed on July 26 itself.

For the Assessment Year (AY) 2021-22, about 5.89 crore ITRs were filed by the extended due date of December 31, 2021, according to the department.