No Break for Tax Work: Good Friday Weekend Off Canceled for Income Tax Staff
March is knocking on the door, and with it, the closing of the books of the financial year 2023-24. Taxpayers across the country are busy sorting their tax affairs. Starting from Good Friday, March 29, up to Sunday, March 31, this was to be a long weekend, but for the Income Tax Department staff, this is going to turn into just another regular workweek.
This is a decision all about helping the taxpayers and ensuring that the compliance of tax laws is met, no matter what. It also denotes how serious and dedicated the department is to clearing up pending assignments together with hitting critical deadlines. The Income Tax Department has notified that all the offices of the Income Tax Department will remain open from March 29 to 31. This is important for the people who have to deal with TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) because they will have to file challan statements for taxes deducted under some sections by the 30th of March. The next important date is March 31, post which no individual is allowed to make any further investments for saving on taxes, like tax saver FDs, ELSS, ULIPs, PPF, SCSS, NSC, and many more. This underlines the rush of this time for financial planning.
Ankit Jain, a partner at Ved Jain & Associates, talks about why this time is so crucial.
Jobs like finishing the reviews for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, and sending out notices for reassessment for incomes that may be underreported fill the department’s to-do list. They are critically important devices that ensure the system is fair to all and guarantee that every individual does report and pays taxes on his or her full income. Moreover, an ITR-U can be furnished up to the updated deadline of March 31, 2024, for the Assessment Year (AY) 2021-22. ITR-U allows a chance to correct the error in the amount of income reported or any other errors that may have been made in the previous returns filed.
This is an important way that will keep things transparent and exact in filing for taxes, hence, missing this deadline may lead to penalties amounting to as high as 200% of the tax due. But yeah, Banks will be in operation on the 30th of March but do remember that the stock market will have a little breather on that long weekend.
