Govt may advance date for I-T returns

RUN-UP TO THE BUDGET 2008-09

The finance ministry is considering a proposal to advance the due date for filing income tax returns by two months for all direct taxpayers, both salaried individuals and companies.

For salaried and other individual taxpayers, the proposal is to bring the due date forward to May 31 from July 31.

For companies and partnership firms that are subject to compulsory tax audit, the new filing date proposed is August 31, instead of October 31.

For small businesses and firms that are not subject to tax audit, the filing date is proposed to be brought forward to June 30, instead of July 31.

An announcement in this regard is expected in Budget 2008-09. "Even if it does not happen in this Budget, it will be done in due course after the system of e-filing of returns, started from 2004-05, stabilises," said a finance ministry official.

The proposal is a consequence of the income tax department's field formations wanting to rationalise the time period for filing returns and refunds. Given that all companies and partnership firms have to file electronic returns compulsorily, tax officials said the time taken should be reduced correspondingly.

A change in the due date has also become necessary because since last year the tax department has to process corporate taxpayer returns mandatorily within 33 months from the date of filing instead of 36 months earlier.

This reduction is considered one of the main factors for higher direct tax revenue collections over the past two years since it allows the taxman to raise fresh tax demands and bolster annual revenue receipts in the last quarter of the financial year.

"For salaried and other individual taxpayers, it will not be a problem if the due date is advanced. But, it takes a lot of time for unlisted companies to finalise their annual accounts as chartered accountants first attend to the listed companies. Advancing the due date for unlisted firms may not be a practical move," said Gaurav Taneja, national tax director, Ernst & Young.