Last date for filing income tax returns extended to August 5

MUMBAI: If you have been struggling to meet the July 31 deadline for filing your annual tax returns, there's some good news for you. The Ministry of Finance has now decided to extend this deadline to August 5 this year.

"Due to large number of taxpayers accessing the e-fling website on due date of filing, some cases of taxpayers not being able to access the e-filing portal have been reported. These problems are primarily due to network constraints of the local internet service providers (ISPs). However, as a measure of taxpayers' convenience, it has been decided to extend the due date of filing of returns July 31, 2013 to August 5, 2013," an official release from the Ministry of Finance said.

For the assessment year 2013-14, the Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT) had made it mandatory for individuals earning more than Rs 5 lakh to file their returns electronically. Tax payers can complete the procedure by visiting the Income Tax department's e-filing portal www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.

According to the official communication, the number of individuals opting for the electronic route has shot up this year. "There is an unprecedented surge in number of returns being e-filed during this year. Till July 30, 92.03 lakh returns had been filed online, which is 46.8% higher than the returns e-filed in the corresponding period last financial year," the release said.