The #ExtendTaxAuditDueDate hashtag is trending on social media as chartered accountants and tax professionals intensify their campaign for an extension of the September 30, 2026 deadline for filing tax audit reports for AY 2026-27 to October 31, 2026. According to the latest developments, the social media campaign has moved from formal representations to collective online advocacy, with tax professionals and other users tagging the Income Tax Department and senior government officials with requests to look into the deadline. The hashtag is being used to collectively highlight the pressure tax professionals face in completing the compliance requirements within the current timeline.
The Bikaner Tax Consultants Association has joined the growing chorus of chartered accountant and tax professional associations seeking an extension of the September 30, 2026 deadline for filing tax audit reports for AY 2026-27 to October 31, 2026. According to the latest representation, the association specifically seeks extensions for Forms 10B and 10BB along with corresponding audit reports. The representation emphasizes that during the election period, a considerable number of persons are directly engaged in election-related duties, campaigning, polling arrangements, administrative responsibilities or other election-related activities, while others are indirectly affected due to movement restrictions and reduced availability of business personnel. The association notes that the elections are being conducted on multiple dates throughout September, further reducing the number of effective working days available during the already compressed period for completion of tax audits and consequential return filing.
Tax professionals are highlighting the compressed compliance window for AY 2026-27, where business taxpayers not liable to tax audit had their deadline on August 31. As reported by Mint, the limited gap between these deadlines has created concentrated workload for tax professionals. The associations have raised concerns about the one-month gap between the tax audit deadline and ITR filing deadline, which they argue is insufficient for completing the detailed compliance requirements. Tax professionals say completing a tax audit involves much more than submitting a report, as books of accounts have to be checked against GST records, TDS and TCS information, AIS, TIS, Form 26AS, bank statements and other financial records. Discrepancies need to be investigated, supporting documents obtained and multiple disclosures reviewed before the audit can be finalised. The September compliance calendar is also packed, with several tax and other statutory requirements falling around the same period, further complicating the process.
Tax audit for AY 2026-27 must be completed by 30 September 2026, with Forms 3CA, 3CB and 3CD continuing to apply. According to Mint, Form 3CD has undergone significant amendments effective from April 2025 covering MSME payments, Section 43B liabilities, loans and deposits, specified expenditure and share buy-backs. The main modifications concern Clauses 12, 19, 21, 22, 26 and 31, while Clauses 28 and 29 have been removed. Clause 22 now requires a three-way bifurcation of total amount payable to micro or small enterprises under Section 15 of the MSMED Act, amount paid within prescribed time, and amount unpaid. Clause 26 has been modified to exclude Clause (h) from general Section 43B provisions and replace "allowed" with "allowable", with MSME payments falling within the MSMED Act's 15/45-day window to be deductible in the year of accrual. Clause 31 has moved from free-text descriptions to a mandatory nature-code system (Codes A through L) for every loan, deposit, or repayment, while Clause 36B has been inserted requiring disclosure of buyback of shares and deemed dividend amounts.
Despite multiple representations and the social media campaign, no extension has been announced by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as of September 22, 2026. According to the Income Tax Department's clarification reported by Mint, the applicable tax audit forms are Form 3CA or Form 3CB, along with Form 3CD, under the old Income-tax Act. The department has explicitly stated that the due date for the tax audit report for AY 2026-27 remains September 30, 2026, while the ITR filing deadline is October 31, 2026. The new Income-tax Act, 2025 applies to subsequent tax years, with the new Form 26 being used for tax audits relating to Tax Year 2026-27. However, tax audit relating to FY 2025-26 and AY 2026-27 continues under the Income-tax Act, 1961, with a precedent for extending deadlines - the CBDT had extended the deadline for filing tax audit reports from September 30, 2025 to October 31, 2025 for FY 2024-25. Some professional bodies have also sought a corresponding extension of the ITR filing deadline for audit cases to November 30, 2026, which would give professionals an additional month to complete audit work before the return-filing stage.
Taxpayers should not wait for an extension before completing their audit work, as reported by Mint. Businesses and professionals covered by tax audit should provide their chartered accountants with all pending financial records and supporting documents, including bank statements, GST records, TDS and TCS details, fixed-asset schedules, loan information, statutory dues and details of related-party transactions. For normal audit cases, the tax audit report is due on September 30, while the corresponding income tax return is generally due on October 31. Transfer-pricing cases have a later timeline, with the audit report due on October 31 and the return on November 30. Experts recommend working backwards from the deadline rather than towards it, ensuring that taxpayers and professionals proceed on the assumption that September 30 remains the applicable deadline unless the CBDT formally announces an extension. The audit process has become increasingly data-intensive, with auditors required to examine information from multiple sources, and taxpayers should keep sufficient time for the approval step after the CA files the report electronically. Rule 6G(3) allows a revised audit report where post-filing payments are made before the ITR due date, providing relief for taxpayers who clear outstanding liabilities after the audit is completed.
