[BREAKING] Gujarat HC directs CBDT to extend ITR Due Date for Audit Cases, mandates 1 month Gap between ITR date and Tax Audit Report Date

In a significant ruling, the Gujarat High Court directed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to extend the Income Tax Return (ITR) due date for audit cases, reaffirming that a statutory one-month gap must be maintained between the filing of tax audit reports and ITRs under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The matter arose when the CBDT, through a recent notification, extended the due date for filing audit reports under Section 44AB of the Income Tax Act to 31 October 2025. However, the Direct Tax Board did not issue a corresponding extension for the ITR filing deadline under Section 139(1), which continues to remain 31 October 2025 for assessees subject to audit.

This inconsistency triggered a legal challenge before the Gujarat High Court, led by Justice Bhargav Karia, where the Income Tax Bar Association contended that such unilateral extension of the audit report deadline without a parallel shift in the ITR due date, contradicts the legislative intent behind Explanation (ii) to Section 44AB.

Counsel for the petitioners argued that Explanation (ii) to Section 44AB clearly establishes that the “specified date” for filing the audit report must precede the ITR due date by one month. Therefore, once CBDT extended the audit report deadline to 31 October 2025, the ITR filing date for audit cases must automatically shift to 30 November 2025.

The petitioners asserted that maintaining this one-month gap is not merely procedural but essential to ensure compliance accuracy. Filing an ITR without sufficient time after audit completion, they argued, could lead to errors and non-compliance, particularly for large and complex entities.

Justice Bhargav Karia observed that the statutory framework under Sections 44AB and 139(1) is “inextricably linked,” and questioned the rationale behind the CBDT’s decision to extend only the audit deadline. The Bench sought to know under what authority the Board could alter one statutory deadline without proportionately modifying the other.

The Court noted that the “one-month gap” requirement was a deliberate legislative safeguard designed to allow taxpayers sufficient time between audit completion and return filing. The Bench reaffirmed that this relationship between audit submission and ITR filing cannot be administratively severed by the CBDT’s notifications.

Accordingly, the Court directed the CBDT to extend the ITR filing due date for audit-required assessees to 30 November 2025, thereby maintaining the one-month gap mandated by the statute.

Unless the CBDT issues a fresh notification revising the ITR deadline, taxpayers under audit remain bound by the 31 October 2025 filing date. However, following the order of the Gujarat High Court, the Board is expected to officially extend the ITR due date to 30 November 2025 to comply with the Court’s order.

The bench also added in the interim that the Due date for filing ITR in Audit cases is to be considered after closely monitoring functioning of e-filing Portal but keeping in mind that a minimum of one month gap is mandatory as per statutory norms between the specified date of uploading the audit report and the due date fo filing of returns.

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