Karnataka extends Time Limit for Tax Proceedings amid COVID-19 [Read Notifications]

The Government of Karnataka on Friday issued four notifications pertaining to the removal of difficulties amid lockdown. The notification seeks to extend time limitation mostly by 6 months for assessments, reassessments, appeals, rectification, and revisions.

Firstly, the government issued Karnataka Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings, and Employments (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2020 and inserted “Provided also that for the month of March 2020, the statement shall be submitted on or before 20th day of May 2020” and “provided that for the financial year 2020-21, in respect of a person who stands enrolled before the commencement of the said year, the payment of the amount of tax due shall be paid before the 30th day of May 2020.” after Section 6-A (1) and Section 10  of the Karnataka Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1976 respectively.

Secondly, the government issued the Karnataka Tax on Entry of Goods (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2020 and clarified, “for the purpose of the “five years after the end of prescribed tax period” in of Section 7(1) of the Karnataka Tax on Entry of Goods Act, 1979, relating to tax periods up to March 2016, shall be considered to be “five years and six months after the end of prescribed tax period” and “the “eight years after the end of prescribed tax period” in subsection (2) of section 7 of the said Act relating to tax periods up to March 2016, shall be considered to be “eight years and six months after the end of prescribed tax period”.

Thirdly, the Government of Karnataka being of the opinion that it is necessary in the public interest so to do hereby notifies as “The statement to be submitted by the registered dealers under sub-rule (1) of Rule 18 of the Karnataka Sales Tax Rules, 1957, for the month of March 2020 and April 2020 shall be submitted, along with due payment of taxes, within twenty days from the end of the tax period to which it relates by sending the copy of such statement duly signed, to the e-mail id cto.karbng@nic.in and such submission of the statement shall be considered as due submission of the returns for such tax period. The physical copy of the above statement shall be submitted to the assessing authority within sixty days from the end of the tax period to which it relates.”

Lastly, the government issued Karnataka Value Added Tax (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2020 clarified, “for the purpose of calculating, the “four years have expired after the passing of the order sought to be revised” in sub-section (2) of section 63A of the said Act, relating to tax periods up to March 2016, shall be considered to be “four years and six months have expired after the passing of the order sought to be revised”; the “one year from the date of initiation of proceeding or calling for the records” in sub-section (3) of section 63A of the said Act relating to tax periods up to March 2016, shall be considered to be “one year and six months from the date of initiation of proceeding or calling for the records”.