In a first, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified income tax return (ITR) forms for the financial year (FY) well in advance before end of it. The ongoing FY 2019-20 will end on 31 March 2020, and taxpayers will need forms to assess and file the return in the assessment year (AY) 2020-21. As of now CBDT has issued two forms—ITR-1 and ITR-4— for the AY 2020-21. However, experts believe that soon all the forms will get notified. “Government wants to avoid the backlash that we usually witness year-on-year because of delay in notifying the ITR forms or amendments thereafter," said Amit Maheshwari, partner, Ashok Maheshwary and Associates Llp, a chartered accountancy firm.
It is expected that this year government will notify all the forms before end of the FY and update utilities (e-filing tax return forms) accordingly so that a tax payer will be able to file the return as soon as AY starts, added Maheshwari.