Tax Audit Due Date Extension Update: Rajasthan High Court Orders To Extend Deadline by One Month For AY 25-26

Giving relief to taxpayers and tax professionals, the Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday directed India's direct tax authority to extend the deadline for filing tax audit reports and related income tax returns for the assessment year 2025-26 by one month. The court's interim order mandates the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to push the due date from September 30 to October 31, 2025.

Tax Audit Due Date Extension: Rajasthan High Court Orders IDTA To Extend Deadline

A division bench comprising Justice (Dr.) Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Bipin Gupta granted this extension under Section 44AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961, responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Tax Bar Association, Bhilwara. The petitioners argued that in previous years, the CBDT had routinely granted similar extensions and that denying it this year would be arbitrary and unreasonable, violating Articles 14, 19(1)(g), and 21 of the Constitution.

According to the LiveLaw report, the petition also highlighted the challenges faced by taxpayers due to the introduction of revised reporting formats for non-corporate entities, which require additional time to comply with. Moreover, technical glitches in the Income Tax e-filing portal have caused significant disruptions, making timely filing difficult.

The court recognised that these combined issues including procedural changes, overlapping timelines, and portal failures-have created undue hardship for taxpayers and professionals, infringing on their legal and fundamental rights.

While the order technically applies only within Rajasthan unless challenged and overruled by the Supreme Court, tax experts believe this could encourage the CBDT to consider a nationwide extension to ease the burden on taxpayers across the country.

Chambers Across India, AIFTP Appeals for Tax Audit Filing Deadline Extension Citing Multiple Challenges Like ITR Portal Glitches

The plea from the Bhilwara Tax Bar Association was supported by multiple tax bodies, chambers of commerce and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), all of whom have urged the Finance Ministry for more time to comply with the filing requirements.

Separately, the All India Federation of Tax Practitioners (AIFTP) has also appealed to the CBDT for deadline extensions, citing several challenges including floods, landslides, ongoing technical glitches, and compliance complexities. AIFTP President Samir Jani confirmed that a formal memorandum requesting extended deadlines has been submitted to the CBDT chairman.

Income Tax Audit Filing Deadline: Proposed Dates To Extend

The AIFTP has proposed the following new deadlines: extending the ITR filing date for non-audit cases from September 15 to October 15, moving the tax audit report deadline from September 30 to October 31, and extending the ITR filing deadline for audit cases from October 31 to November 30.

The counsel also highlighted persistent technical glitches on the Income Tax e-filing portal that disrupted the filings, stating that the "combined effect of delayed forms, overlapping timelines, procedural changes, and portal issues has created undue hardship, affecting the legal and fundamental rights of taxpayers and professionals..." as per LiveLaw.

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