Under an Act of Parliament in 1949, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), a statutory body, was established. Earlier, it asked for an extension of the tax audit report filing deadline for the Financial Year 2024-25 (Assessment Year 2025-26), in a letter addressed to Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Central India Regional Council (CIRC) of ICAI, emphasized the need for relief, proposing a due date of 31st December 2025. This move has arrived as taxpayers, professionals, and other stakeholders tussle with intricate reporting requirements and operational hurdles.
Current Deadline and Recent Relaxation
To file the tax audit reports, the current deadline is fixed for 30th September 2025. The ITR filing due date extension to 15th September 2025 has been welcomed, CIRC said that this is not enough. This extension has made a staggered release of ITR forms, providing an advantage to workflow pressures on tax professionals and taxpayers alike. But income tax e-filing portal-related technical issues have continued to interrupt the timely submissions.
Overlapping Obligations Create Pressure
From July to October, the compliance calendar is busy with taxpayers tussling with obligations. These comprise GST filings, company law requirements such as annual returns and financial statement filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), and other sector-specific regulatory submissions. Issues have arisen from this overlap in finishing the tax audits precisely and within the specified duration, which has led ICAI to ask for additional leniency.
Significance of Extension
The letter of CIRC specified that the operational issues encountered by the professionals, as well as taxpayers, along with the need for accurate data compilation, and the lengthy nature of tax audits. The motive of the proposed extension to 31st December 2025 is to deliver a feasible window that permits efficient and precise compliance with regulatory needs. The same request shows the devotion of the ICAI to support its members, along with the broader taxpayer community, in steering an intricate statutory landscape.
Appeal for Smooth Tax Administration
The letter, signed by CA Ankur Kumar Gupta, Chairman of CIRC, and CA Jayendra Kumar Tiwary, Secretary of CIRC, specifies the expectation that the Finance Minister will consider the request favourably. If the extension is approved, it can ease tax administration as well as improve compliance nationwide, aligning with the ICAI’s mandate to govern the profession of Chartered Accountancy.
The taxpayers, along with the professionals, are waiting for the reply of government, since the same decision can remove the pressure and set a precedent for future compliance due dates. You must be alerted to the updates on the same subject.
Here is the official letter sent to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from the CIRC of ICAI. Click here for the Official PDF:
