Social Media Users Mistake GOI Advisory and Falsely Claim ITR Filing Deadline Has Been Extended

Amidst the news of taxpayers requesting an extension of the deadline to file ITR, an image of a GoI document went viral on social media claimed to be a circular declaring the extension of the deadline to 31 August. Sharing the image on Facebook, a user wrote, “ITR date extended till 31st August 2024”.

Facebook Link | Archived Link.

Similar posts can be seen here, here, here and here. Archived Link.

The same image was forwarded to our 24*7 Factline number 9049053770.

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However, upon investigation, we discovered that the claim was false. The deadline for filing ITR remains July 31, 2024. Here is the fact check.

Fact Check

We started our investigation by conducting a relevant keyword search. As a result, we found a tweet from the Income Tax Department of India on 26 July 2024. 

The tweet read, “We express our gratitude to the taxpayers & tax professionals for helping us reach the milestone of 5 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs).

Over 5 crore ITRs for AY 2024-25 have already been filed till 26th of July this year as compared to 27th of July last year. 

We urge all those who haven’t filed ITR for AY 2024-25, to file their ITR at the earliest to avoid last minute rush”.

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Income Tax India also reposted a tweet from PIB Fact Check which clarified that the due date for filing ITR is 31 July 2024. 

Sharing the viral circular PIB Fact Check tweeted, “An advisory of Office of Press Registrar General of India shared on social media is being misconstrued as extension of due date for filing ITR

#PIBFactCheck 

✔️The advisory is NOT related to extension of date of filing ITR.

✔️The due date for filing ITR is 31 July 2024″.

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Moving forward, we found another tweet from Income Tax India stating that the ITR filing due date is 31 July 2024.

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Moreover, in the viral circular, the issuing authority was the Deputy Press Registrar General. Taking this clue, using relevant keywords we found the advisory issued before the viral circular. According to the advisory, publishers whose periodicals were registered with PRGI (formerly RNI) were advised to file the Annual Statement online through the Press Sewa Portal. The last date for the process was 31 May 2024.

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In continuation of the advisory, three more circulars were issued and the viral circular was one of those. Please read here, here and here. 

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the claim is false. The ITR filing due date has not been extended to 31 August 2024. The due date is 31 July 2024 and the viral circular is not related to ITR.