CBDT Extension of Due date for ITR Filing AY 2014-15. Do Chartered Accountants really have a valid cause of concern? I don't see how! | CA Ashutosh Lohani |

CBDT has vide order u/s 119 dated 26-09-2014 extended the date to 30-11-2014 Click Here >>

Is this what was really fought for? Click Here >>

Download the copy of Gujarat High Court Order Click Here >>

The Story so far:
As we all know CBDT by order u/s 119 dated 20-08-2014 has extended the due date for obtaining and filing of Tax Audit Report by two months to 30-11-2014. Extension Order >>

I am witnessing havocs among Chartered accountants over the non extension of the date of ITR filing for AY 2014-15. CAs are going impatient and does not appear to be nonchalant over this.

Both, filing of Tax Audit Report (TAR) and filing of Income Tax Return (ITR) are governed by different sections and extension of one can not be considered as extension of other, this we all know.

It is also true that without extension of due date for filing Income Tax Return for assessees covered under tax audit, ITR for those assessee can’t be filed because ITR itself requires the details of furnishing of TAR.

So, the very basic thing which we all know, should hardly be unknown to CBDT and also it would give rise to litigation which CBDT would never want. The only thing is that we are unnecessarily becoming impatient and can’t wait for another notification either modifying the compulsory field for details of TAR in ITRs or extending the date for filing of ITR. And if the ITRs are not modified or the date is not extended at all, how does it make chartered accountants satisfied or unsatisfied is beyond my understanding. It appears that chartered accountants have succumbed to pressure from the assessees to somehow complete the Tax Audit before the due date of ITRs (30-09-2014). As Chartered accountants, we should be concerned with the date of tax Audit only, rest is between the assessees and the Income Tax Department. If the ITRs could not be filed, let assessees fight it out with CBDT, it's really a pity to see professionals, can't stand the pressure from the assessees and behaving like the earth is falling on them which puts a question mark on their independence and integrity as Tax Auditors.

There were some unconfirmed news that ICAI has also made another representation to CBDT in this regard. Now ICAI has confirmed that it has made another request to CBDT for extension of the due date of ITRs Click Here >> , it could be seen that ICAI has to make it as a concerns of the taxpayers raher then those of its member Chartered Accountants as otherwise perhaps there could not have been any other ground for ICAI to be a party in writing to CBDT for extension of ITR dates.

Few Writs/Special Civil Application have been filed in various High Courts in this regard. While the writ on validity of TAR obtained up to the notification could be a valid point to be challenged by chartered accountants, expressing repeated concern on the issue of ITR date extension colour Chartered Accountants acting not as independent auditors but as agents of the assessees and as said earlier, it paints them as have succumbed to the pressure from the assessee creating serious questions over their independence and quality of tax audits.

Two cases where writ/SCA have been filed are as under:

Type	Case No	Party	Status	Link
Special Civil Application (SCA)	12571/2014	Rajni Mangaldas Shah vs CBDT-Gujrat HC	Disposed Off-22-09-2014	Click Here
WP(C)	5990/2014	Mahesh Kumar and Company vs Union of India and ANR-Delhi HC	Withdrawn 23-09-2014	Click Here

As we all could see, the order u/s 119 extending the date of filing of TAR seems to have been brought under some haste. The order does not speak of any reasons attributable to the extension of the date of TAR. Is it just a miss or done deliberately? or what is that CBDT avoiding to acknowledge officially?

Perhaps CBDT at this stage does not want to acknowledge that it is the revision of TAR Forms at the eleventh hour that has made extension inevitable. Because once they acknowledge it, they would have to answer many questions including:

1.  Why the new forms declared in July 2014 (just two months before the due date) could not be made applicable to AY 2015-16 and not to AY 2014-15

2.  Why those assessees who have got their accounts audited and TAR issued before 24 ^th July 2014 (for any assessment year) not file TAR in old formats?

3.  Why CBDT has preferred to keep a mum over the validity of the TAR issued before 24 ^th July 2014 but not filed yet.

No doubt, the para 2 of the Order 119 dated 20-08-2014 speaks about the validity of TAR  filed up to 24 ^th July 2014, CBDT has preferred to keep a silence over the validity tax audits reports issued in old formats before publication of the notification in the official Gazette. Please bear in mind that what has been said in para 2 does not necessarily mean to say opposite in the cases not covered and this is how the options have been kept open.

Perhaps the Order u/s 119 that sans the reasons for the extension is subject to a well thought out clarification and  CBDT is adopting “watch and wait”  to deal with the situation including probable litigation as and when it develops.