The income tax return season for Assessment Year 2025-26 has begun formally, but the taxpayers are left uncertain as the Income Tax Department has not made the return-filing utilities available in time. The fun fact is that the clients are frequently asking the Chartered Accountants ( CA ) regarding the due date extension before release of utilities.
Even though the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has released notifications to prescribe the ITR forms, the supporting Excel utilities to actually file the returns are still not available or delayed. This notification-to-implementation gap has left taxpayers as well as tax professionals confused. There is a belief among the professionals that the utilities will be available within 7 to 10 days after the notification of the ITR forms. However, it’s been more than 10 days, no utilities were updated.
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A comparative examination of the last Assessment Year brings the delay into focus. In AY 2024-25, initial versions of the Excel utilities for ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4, and ITR-6, mainly for salaried taxpayers and some businesses, were notified as early as April 1, 2024. Thus it is delayed by 1.5 months and it is still notified.
The excel utility for ITR-3 for individuals and HUFs having business or profession income, was released on May 9, 2024, while that for ITR-5 and ITR-7 was released on May 31, 2024, and June 21, 2024, respectively. This year, however, the delay in releasing the corresponding utilities has postponed the actual filing process despite the notification of the return forms. The utilities and utility for mac has been notified on different dates.
| ITR Form | AY 2025-26 | AY 2024-25 | AY 2023-24 |
| ITR 1 | To be notified | 1st April 2024 | 25th April 2023 |
| ITR 2 | To be notified | 1st April 2024 | 11th May 2023 |
| ITR 3 | To be notified | 9th May 2024 | 25th May 2023 |
| ITR 4 | To be notified | 1st April 2024 | 25th April 2023 |
| ITR 5 | To be notified | 31st May 2024 | 9th June 2023 |
| ITR 6 | To be notified | 1st April 2024 | 13th July 2023 |
| ITR 7 | To be notified | 21st June 2024 | 30th June 2023 |
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| Category of Taxpayer | Due Date |
| Individual / HUF/ AOP/ BOI (books of accounts not required to be audited) | 31st July 2025 |
| Businesses (Requiring Audit) | 31st October 2025 |
| Businesses requiring transfer pricing reports (in case of international/specified domestic transactions) | 30th November 2025 |
| Revised return | 31st December 2025 |
| Belated/late return | 31st December 2025 |
| Updated return | 31 March 2030 (4 years from the end of the relevant Assessment Year) |
The ITR-1 utility’s launch has been much more delayed compared to the preceding two years. This holdup appears to be the primary factor of the growing number of clients approaching chartered accountants with queries regarding when income tax returns are due, if they can be filed, and whether an extension is possible.
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