Kochi: The Central Income Tax Department’s silence on filing income tax returns (ITR) has left several businessmen in Kerala worried.
Most of them, paying Rs 25,000 to Rs 1,00,000 as I-T, had been unable to file the ITR for the financial year (FY) 2019-20 on time due to the current COVID-19 pandemic situation.
The delay in filing ITRs have impacted the country’s revenue from taxes, besides causing a financial crisis to the businesses.
The last date for filing ITRs for FY 2019-20 was March 31, 2021. Those who waited till the last moment could not file ITRs as the I-T department’s website crashed.
The website experienced heavy traffic, since the last date for linking the PAN number with Aadhaar was also March 31. The rush crashed the host server.
The government later extended the date for PAN-Aadhaar linkage to June, but it has been remaining silent on granting an extension for filing ITRs.
Though the facility to file ITRs with a fine after the deadline was offered in previous years, it was later withdrawn.
