No long weekend for Income Tax department, all offices open from March 29-31; Here's why

By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Mar 20, 2024, 5:23 PM IST

As the financial year is nearing end, the Union Finance Ministry, in a notification, has directed all the Income Tax offices across the country to remain open on the last Sunday of this month.

As the fiscal year 2023-24 comes to a close, deadlines and duties for taxpayers across the country become more pressing. However, with March 29 falling on Good Friday, March 30 on Saturday, and March 31 on Sunday, it seemed to be a long weekend for many. However, in an effort to help taxpayers, the Income-tax department has decided to cancel this prolonged leave for its personnel.

The Income-tax department issued an official order stating, "To facilitate completion of pending departmental work, all Income Tax Offices throughout India shall remain open on March 29th, 30th, and 31st, 2024."

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A media report states that it is crucial for those who are required by income tax rules to withhold TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) to submit challan statements by March 30th for taxes withheld under certain sections, such as 194M or 194-IA. In addition, tax-saving investments including tax-saver FDs, ELSS, ULIPs, PPF, SCSS, NSC, and more have a deadline of March 31.

Make sure the institutions you require are open if you want to do tax-related duties at the end of the month. For instance, banks will be open on Saturday, March 30, as it is a regular business day, even though the stock market is closed on the long weekend.

The last deadline for eligible taxpayers to file an amended income tax return (ITR-U) for Assessment Year (AY) 2021–22 (FY 2020–21) is March 31, 2024. ITR-U is used to correct mistakes in previously filed returns, including underreported or misreported income. People who are legally obligated to file an ITR but missed the deadline can also file an ITR-U. After the relevant assessment year ends, taxpayers have 24 months to file an ITR-U. People can file ITR-U for Assessment Years (AY) 2021–22 and 2022–23 for the fiscal year 2023–24.

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