On Tuesday, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) clarified that no changes have been made in any of the income-tax return (ITR) forms since April 1, 2019, the first day of the assessment year 2019-20.
According to Hindustan Times, only the utility software has been updated, the CBDT said, quashing reports circulating on social media about "large-scale changes" in the forms troubling taxpayers. The policy-making body of the Income Tax Department issued a statement saying the updating process of these forms' utility software does not hamper the filing of returns, the deadline for which is July 31. It also said that over 1.38 crore entities have already filed their income-tax returns till now.
"No change has been made in any of the ITR forms including ITR-2 and ITR-3 since the notification made on the April 1, the first day of the assessment year 2019-20, on April 1. There were reports in social media that the taxpayers were facing difficulties in filing returns of income in ITR-2 and ITR-3 due to large-scale changes in the ITR form on 11th July," the statement by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said.
It said the software for e-filing of ITR-2, meant for individuals and 'Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs)' not having income from profits and gains of business or profession, and ITR-3, for individuals and HUFs having income from profits and gains of business or profession, was released on May 2 and May 10 respectively.
"However, the software utility update is a dynamic process and is continuously taken up as per the feedback received from the users/filers to ease their experience in electronic filing of returns," it said. This updation, it clarified, does not hamper filing of return as the taxpayers are allowed to file using the utility which is available at that point of time. The CBDT also said that more than 85 lakh taxpayers have filed returns in ITR-1 till date by using the said utility, which had also undergone update later. "Therefore, the impression that the taxpayers are not able to file a return due to changes in ITR form is also not correct as more than 1.38 crore taxpayers have already filed their returns by using the utility released till date," it said.
