New Delhi, (IANS) : The government has extended the date for filing of income tax returns by tax payers whose accounts are required to be audited under the Income Tax Act from September 30 to October 17, 2016, an official statement said here on Monday.

“Taking into consideration that the last date for making declarations under the Income Declaration Scheme 2016 is also September 30, 2016, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to extend the last date for such returns which were due on September, 30, 2016 to October 17, 2016 in order to remove inconvenience and to facilitate ease of compliance,” a statement from the Finance Ministry said.

The tax payers whose business receipts exceed Rs 1 crore or professional receipts exceed Rs 25 lakh during the previous year 2015-16 are required to file an income tax return accompanied by an audit report by October 17, 2016.