NEW DELHI: Amid reports that several taxpayers were facing difficulties in income tax return (ITR) filing, the income tax department has clarified that there has been no change in ITR Form 2 and 3 since April 2019.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has said that only the software utility for e-filing of ITR-2 and ITR-3 forms were updated as it is a continuous process.
"It is further clarified that the updating of utility does not hamper filing of return as the taxpayers are allowed to file using the utility which is available at that point of time," the tax department said.
It said that the impression that the taxpayers are not able to file return due to changes in ITR form is also not correct as more than 1.38 crore taxpayers have already filed their returns by using the utility released till date.
There were reports in social media that the taxpayers were facing difficulties in ITR filing using ITR-2 & ITR-3 due to large scale changes in the ITR form on 11th July, 2019.
CBDT has further clarified that even those whose ITRs were filed using the previous version of the utility will continue to be valid.
ITR-2 is used by individual taxpayers and HUFs who do have income from profits and gains of business or profession. On the other hand, ITR-3 is meant for individuals and HUFs having income from profits and gains of business or profession.
Altogether, the tax department has 7 ITR forms for different categories of taxpayers.
From April 2019, the income tax department has made some key changes in ITR Forms by seeking more disclosures to prevent tax avoidance. Salaried individuals, for example, need to provide details on salary components.
The last date to file ITR is July 31 but it is likely to be extended.
