Chartered accountant associations and tax lawyers have urged the government to extend income tax return (ITR) and audit deadlines for the assessment year (AY) 25-26, citing ongoing issues with the e-filing portal and delays in form releases.

The Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association (KSCAA) has sent a representation to the ministry arguing that ITR-5, ITR-6, ITR-7, and key audit forms were only released in July and August.

“The long-established practice of notifying ITR forms by 1 April has once again not been followed. This year, the delays have been particularly grave, severely limiting preparation time for tax filers,” the association was quoted as saying to reports.

Further, KSCAA found portal glitches, discrepancies in Annual Information Statements, frequent downtimes and error messages during peak compliance periods.

Returns claiming exemption under Sections 54/54F were incorrectly prompting for CGAS utilisation details, even in cases where investments were fully utilised, it said.

Further, it argued that overlapping compliance burdens complicate the challenges. Statutory filings for GST, MCA, and Tax Audit reports overlap with return filing timelines, it said. Adoption of ICAI’s Guidance Note on NCE financials has added substantial audit workload due to expanded disclosures, the association noted.

According to the association, National holidays and weather-related disruptions have further reduced effective working days.

Meanwhile, the Central India Regional Council (CIRC) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) requested the ministry to extend the tax audit report submission deadline from September 30 to December 31, 2025, due to the same challenges mentioned by KSCAA.

Further, the Advocates Tax Bar Association (ATBA) also requested extensions for non-audit ITRs until October 30, tax audit reports until November 30, and ITR filings in audit cases until December 31. The new deadline for transfer pricing (Form 3CEB) was proposed as January 31, 2026.

The representations follow the government's extension of the non-audit ITR deadline to September 15, 2025.