COVID-19: Akhilesh Yadav urges Centre to relax norms for filing of returns

As the ending of the financial year draws nears, Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday urged the Centre to announce relaxation in the time frame for filing tax returns as the country braces for a battle with the coronavirus pandemic.

"The country's businessmen, salaried employees and chartered accountants have the burden of the final week of the financial year along with that of coronavirus. The government should immediately announce relaxations without any extra fines or charges and also additional time frame and relaxation in rules in filing returns, thereby freeing the taxpayers of the fear of government," Yadav's tweet on Monday read (translated from Hindi).

The financial year 2019-20 will come to a close on March 31. Business and commercial activities have taken a hit due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Uttar Pradesh has 27 reported cases of coronavirus.

The Uttar Pradesh government has put 16 districts under total lockdown in the state which are Agra, Lucknow, Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Varanasi, Lakhimpur Khiri, Bareilly, Azamgarh, Kanpur, Meerut, Prayagraj, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, Pilibhit and Saharanpur.

The number of coronavirus positive patients in India rose to 396 on Sunday, as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).