The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the time frame for issue of assessment orders, notices and intimations under certain provisions of the Income Tax Act along with extension of time for payment of the amount of disputed tax payable under the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Act without an additional charge of 10 per cent by the end of June.

This extension comes amid the spiralling second wave of the coronavirus pandemic across the country.

Extra time has been allowed for completion of assessment, reassessment and re-computation of income as well as issuing a notice under section 148 of the Income Tax Act in cases where income has escaped assessment. The time limit for passing an order based on the direction of a dispute resolution panel has also been extended.

Moreover, time limits for the tax department to intimate businesses about processing their statement on equalisation levy have been extended by two months to the end of June. These extensions come as a relief measure primarily for the tax officials.

The CBDT said notifications extending these due dates will be issued soon. The deadlines were earlier extended from March-end to April-end.

CBDT said the move to extend certain timelines comes on the back of representations from industry, consultants and other stakeholders.

Karishma Phatarphekar, Deloitte India, said, “While it’s a welcome move that no additional amount payable under the VSV has been extended to June 30, it would have been good if they would have also extended the filing deadline beyond March 31 for this category to May 31 so that more taxpayers could avail of the scheme.

“The government can also consider enhancing the scope of the scheme to cover taxpayers whose appeals are pending beyond January 31, 2020.”

Narayan Jain, chairman of the representation committee of Direct Taxes Professionals Association, said: “Only extension of date for payment under VSV is helpful to the assessee. However, the date for filing the declaration under VSV should have also been extended in the national interest and to minimise litigations.”

He said the other four extensions should be revisited by the finance ministry.

The extension of due date comes at a time businesses, professional services firms and the tax authorities are grappling with a manpower shortage. Businesses are also expecting extension of due dates for filing GST returns.