Taxpayers get one-day breather as ITR and advance tax deadlines collide

The government has extended the deadline for filing income tax returns (ITRs) for Assessment Year 2025–26 by a day to 16 September after taxpayers and professionals reported difficulties in accessing the Income Tax Department’s e-filing portal on the last day of submission.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said late on Monday that the move was aimed at “facilitating further filings” after the portal witnessed heavy traffic. More than 7.3 crore returns had been filed by 15 September, surpassing the 7.28 crore ITRs submitted in the previous assessment year.

The extension also came as chartered accountants and taxpayers flagged recurring glitches, including inability to download the Annual Information Statement (AIS), errors while uploading returns, failed challan payments and even access denial messages.

The issues coincided with the deadline for payment of the second instalment of advance tax for the current financial year, further compounding the challenge.

Tax professionals said the convergence of multiple deadlines including ITR filing, advance tax, and tax audit report submissions, had created unusual pressure this month. Two Bharatiya Janata Party MPs, Bhartruhari Mahtab and PP Chaudhury, along with several professional associations, had also written to the finance ministry seeking a further extension.

“E-pay challans are not working, AIS and Form 26AS refuse to load, and saved drafts vanish after payment. At times the portal simply throws an ‘Access Denied’ error,” said Himank Singla, founding partner at SBHS & Associates.

Nitesh Buddhdev, founder of Nimit Consultancy, added that the overlap with advance tax payment deadlines had worsened matters: “Even if the government extends the ITR date, will penalties on delayed advance tax payments be waived when glitches prevent payments?”

The Income Tax Department, however, maintained that the portal was functioning normally, attributing most issues to browser-related problems at the user’s end. In a post on X, it advised taxpayers to clear their cache or use a different browser, and shared support email addresses for those continuing to face difficulties.

The CBDT also announced that the portal would undergo maintenance between 12 am and 2.30 am on 16 September to accommodate changes in the filing utilities.

Failure to pay the second instalment of advance tax by the due date attracts penal interest under section 234C of the Income Tax Act. Tax experts cautioned that taxpayers unable to make payments due to portal glitches could face charges “through no fault of their own”.

The deadline for non-audited taxpayers had originally been set for 31 July but was extended to 15 September following revisions in ITR forms notified earlier this year. With the latest extension, taxpayers now have until 16 September to file their returns without penalty.

With agency inputs