ITR filing: Last-minute rush to meet December 31 deadline, 4.54 crore returns filed so far

With only two days left for the due date to expire to file the income tax returns (ITR), there is a steady rise in the number of daily income tax return filed for the financial year (FY) 20, for those who do not require their accounts to be audited.

However, along with the rush, taxpayers filing e-returns are facing difficulty in receipt of Aadhaar based OTP for the purpose of e-verification of ITRs filed. The income tax department tweeted saying it is looking it to the matter with authorities.

“It has come to our notice that users are experiencing some difficulty in receipt of Aadhaar based OTP for the purpose of e-verification of ITRs filed. This issue has been taken up with the authorities concerned,” the tax department tweet said.

It further said that it is reiterated that, while, filing of ITR is to be done within the stipulated period, the e-verification of ITR filed can/may be done with Aadhaar OTP or other options within 120 days from the date of filing of the ITR.

In order to verify ITR using the Aadhaar-based one-time password (OTP), the candidate's mobile number should be linked to Aadhaar card and registered in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) database. Apart from this, the PAN card must be linked with Aadhaar.

More than 4.54 crore Income Tax Returns for AY 2020-21 have already been filed till 29th of December, 2020, the tweet said. At the same time reminding taxpayers to file the return today it self if, not filed yet. The income tax department is tweeting every one hour showing the statistics of ITR filed and reminding taxpayers about the deadline of 31 December, 2020.

However, at the same time demand for the extension of the due date to file the ITR is also growing simultaneously. The social media is flooded with pleas for extension of the due date to file the return.

But the Union Finance Ministry seems to be in no mood to postpone the last date for filing several returns, including for income tax (I-T) for assessment year 2020-21. On the other hand, the government seems to have join the Income tax department in reminding the taxpayers to meet the dead line to file their returns. FPJ had reported on December 29 that the official Finance Ministry Twitter handle is urging taxpayers to submit the returns by December 31.