Gujarat High Court Directs CBDT To Extend Due Date Of Filing ITR Till November 30 For Assessees Who Are Required To File Audit Report

The Gujarat High Court on Monday (October 13) directed Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to extend the due date for filing income tax return (ITR) to November 30 for those assesse's who are required to file an audit report. 

This the court said after noting that as the specified date of filing tax audit report had been extended to October 31, then as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act the due date for filing ITR has to be extended keeping one month gap between the two.

Previously the court had sought an explanation from the CBDT as to why it had not extended the due date for filing income tax return (ITR) when it had extended the specified date for filing tax audit report for Financial Year 2024-2025.

A division bench of Justice Bhargav D Karia and Justice Pranav Trivedi in its order dictated

"In the aforesaid circumstances, and having regard to the provisions of Explanation (ii) of Section 44AB of the Act, we direct the respondent no. 2 CBDT to issue Circular exercising power under sections 119 of the Act to extend the “due date” of filing of return up to 30 th November,2025 for the assessees who are required to file audit report as per clause (a) of Explanation 2 to sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act or requiring to file the report of audit under the provisions of the Act for the Financial Year 2024-25 (Assessment Year 2025-26)."

The court noted that its earlier order addressed the issue of whether the due date under Section 139(1) of Income Tax Act for filing ITR is required to be extended, in view of circular dated September 25, as per explanation (ii) of section 44AB or not by CBDT. 

"The facts emerging from the record are in narrow compass to the effect that CBDT in circular...has extended "specified date" for assessee referred in explanation (ii) of section 44AB of furnishing the report of audit under any provisions of the Act for FY 2024-25 relevant to Assessment Year 2025-2026 from September 30 to October 31...Under provisions of the Act, Section 44AB provides for audit of accounts of certain persons carrying out business or profession...explanation (ii) of section 44AB defines specified date...Intention of the legislature to have period of one month from the date of filing of audit report and due date of filing of return of income is to enable filing of returns in case of persons having income from business or profession," it said. 

Accordingly the court noted, amendments were carried out in all the Sections of the act which mandated filing of audit report along with return of income or by the due date of filing of return of income. It noted that due date as per Section 139(1) explanation (a) is amended by providing the due date of filing the return where the assessee's are required to furnish the audit report of the relevant assessment year. 

The court said, "From the above analysis of the provisions of the Act and taking into consideration the Explanatory Memorandum for Finance Act, 2020, by which the Explanation (ii) to Section 44AB has been amended and all other Sections referred to herein-above also have been amended to mean the specified date in relation to the accounts of the assessee of the previous relevant Assessment Year means date one month prior to “the due date for furnishing the return of income under subsection(1) of Section 139 of the Act. Therefore, extending the specified date without extending the due date for furnishing the return of income under sub-section (1) of Section 139 of the Act would be contrary to the statutory provisions. In other words, as the specified date is extended as per the Circular No. 14/2025, the due date has to be extended accordingly by one month from the date of extension of the specified date". 

The court said that for Assessment Year 2025-2026 the due date for furnishing return of income under Section 139(1) read with explanation (a) is prescribed as October 31, 2025.

Therefore as per explanation(ii) to Section 44AB the specified date in relation to account of assessee of previous year relevant to assessment year 2025-2026 would be date one month prior to furnishing ITR, that would be September 30, 2025. 

"The respondent has extended specified date...from September 30 to October 31. Considering the above facts and the provisions of the Act...the specified date has to be prior to one month from the due date of furnishing return of income. Statutory provisions which have been amended cannot be rendered nugatory or otiose...in view of the above the circular number 14 of 2025 has to be in consonance with provisions of the act, meaning thereby merely extending specified date without extending due date for filing return would be contrary to the explanation (ii) to Section 44AB and contrary to the legislative intention to bring amendment to finance act," it said.

"There has always been a difference of one month between specified date for filing audit report and due date of filing return....There is no embargo on extending the due date," the court added

The petitioners had argued that after the filing of the petition, the respondent authorities had issued a Circular on September 25 extending the “specified date” for furnishing the report of audit under any provisions of the Act for the Financial Year 2024-2025 relevant to Assessment Year 2025-2026 from September 30 to October 31. The counsel argued that the authorities should have simultaneously extended the due date for filing ITR.

It was argued that as per Explanation (ii) to section 44AB “specified date” has to be one month prior to due date of filing the return as per section 139(1) of the Act and therefore, the respondents ought to have also issued simultaneous notification for extending the due date of filing of return upto 30.11.2025

The matter is now listed on October 16. 

Case title: INCOME TAX BAR ASSOCIATION & ANR. v/s UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 13533 of 2025 

Click Here To Read/Download Order