New Delhi, July 23: The Government of India has provided a major relief to tax-payers as the deadline for filing income tax return (ITR) for the financial year 2018-19 has been extended by a month. The new deadline is August 31, 2019 as opposed to July 31, 2019.

"In this regard, the Central Board of Direct Taxes, in exercise of its powers conferred under Section 119 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, hereby extends the due date as prescribed under Section 139 (1) of the Act for filing of income tax returns from 31st July, 2019, to 31st August, 2019, in case of all taxpayers who are liable to file their income tax returns by the said due date," a Finance Ministry order said.

The decision by the government comes after many taxpayers complained about not being able to file the income tax returns, including extension of the due date for the issuance of Form 16 for the assessment year 2019-20. Many chartered accountants and tax professionals had also appealed to the government to extend the return filing deadline.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 23, 2019 08:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).