Government extends tax deadlines to June 30

ATM withdrawal charges waived

25/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

Deadlines for filing income tax and GST returns have been extended to June 30, as part of a slew of relaxations of financial year-end compliance announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday.

The changes were prompted by the shutdown of large parts of the country in a bid to control the spread of the COVID-19 viral infection, so that taxpayers were not forced to endanger their health in a bid to meet compliance requirements, she said.

Bank account holders would not be charged extra for using a debit card to withdraw money from the ATMs of other banks for the next three months, and charges for not meeting minimum balance requirements would also be waived. Bank charges for digital transactions were also being reduced.

Income tax returns for the financial year 2018-19 can now be filed until June 30, with the interest rate on delayed payments reduced to 9% from 12%. The last date for linking Aadhaar with PAN has also been extended from March 31 to June 30. Other taxpayer compliance deadlines, including for investment in savings instruments or for roll-over benefit of capital gains, under the Income Tax Act and other laws have also been extended.

The deadline for filing GST returns for March, April and May, as well as for opting for the composition scheme, has been extended to June 30 for smaller companies — with less than ₹5 crore aggregate annual turnover — without any interest, late fee or penalty being charged.