Defer income-tax filing if you have to pay a penalty, say analysts

Do so once the glitches on the new tax portal have been ironed out

Owing to the hardships caused by the second wave of the pandemic, the income-tax (I-T) department has extended the deadline for individual taxpayers to file their income-tax returns (ITR) for 2020-21 (assessment year 2021-22) to September 30.

The previous deadline was July 31. While many taxpayers have been able to file their returns without facing any issue, others who tried to do so after July 31 were slapped with a fine for late filing, notwithstanding the extension.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has not yet issued a clarification on the issue.

According to Rahul Agarwala, chartered accountant and business partner, AGSM Advisory,