CBDT Circular No. 6/2025 Extends the ITR Due Date to 15 September 2025 for Non-Audit Taxpayers (AY 2025-26)

On 27 May 2025 the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued Circular No. 06/2025 (F. No. 225/205/2024/ITA-II), moving the income-tax return (ITR) due date for Assessment Year (AY) 2025-26 from 31 July 2025 to 15 September 2025 for one specific group of taxpayers: those covered by clause (c) of Explanation 2 to section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. That clause is the "any other assessee" category - the salaried, pensioners and small taxpayers whose accounts are not required to be audited. Despite some headlines describing it as an "audit case" extension, the circular does the opposite: it extends only the 31 July slot, not the 31 October audit slot.

This note explains the statutory machinery behind the extension, works through the interest arithmetic with a concrete salary, and flags the mistakes that surface most often when the Income Tax Department processes these returns. You can model your own numbers alongside it on the Oquilia income-tax calculator.

What the Section Says

Section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 obliges every person whose total income exceeds the basic exemption limit to furnish a return of income on or before the "due date". That due date is not a single date - it is defined in Explanation 2 to section 139(1), which sorts assessees into categories:

Circular No. 06/2025 acts only on clause (c). Its operative line extends the due date "in the case of assessees referred in clause (c) of Explanation 2 to sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act, which is 31st July, 2025 to 15th September, 2025". The clauses (a) and (aa) dates - 31 October 2025 and 30 November 2025 - are untouched by this circular.

The power to do this comes from section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which lets the CBDT issue orders, instructions and directions to income-tax authorities, including relaxations of statutory timelines for the proper administration of the Act. A section 119 circular is binding on the department but cannot override the statute itself; it can only move a date the statute already contemplates. That distinction matters for interest, as the worked example below shows.

The practical effect is that for a non-audit taxpayer, the entire downstream clock shifts to the new anchor of 15 September 2025. Interest under section 234A for late filing now runs from 16 September 2025 rather than 1 August 2025, because the "due date" that section 234A refers to is the same section 139(1) due date that the circular has moved. If you want to confirm whether the old or new regime is cheaper before you file, run both on the old-vs-new comparison.

Worked Example

Consider Anaya, a salaried resident with no audit requirement, so she sits squarely in clause (c). For FY 2025-26 (AY 2025-26) she opts for the new regime. Her figures:

• Gross salary: Rs 16,00,000
• Standard deduction (new regime): Rs 75,000
• Total income: Rs 15,25,000

Applying the FY 2025-26 new-regime slabs (nil up to Rs 4,00,000; 5% from Rs 4,00,001 to Rs 8,00,000; 10% from Rs 8,00,001 to Rs 12,00,000; 15% from Rs 12,00,001 to Rs 16,00,000), her tax works out as:

Because her total income of Rs 15,25,000 is above Rs 12,00,000, the section 87A rebate (up to Rs 60,000 in the new regime for FY 2025-26, available where total income does not exceed Rs 12,00,000) does not apply to her. Suppose her employer has deducted TDS of Rs 1,00,000, leaving a self-assessment balance of Rs 13,100 to pay when she files. You can check the TDS already sitting against your PAN on the TDS calculator and your Form 26AS.

Now the interest. Section 234A charges simple interest at 1% per month, or part of a month, on the unpaid tax, from the day after the due date to the date the return is actually filed. Watch what the extension does if Anaya files on 20 November 2025:

The extension saves Anaya one month of section 234A interest - Rs 131 in this small case, and proportionately more for anyone carrying a larger self-assessment balance. Had she filed on or before 15 September 2025 with her Rs 13,100 paid, her section 234A liability would have been Rs 0. On top of interest, filing after 15 September 2025 attracts a section 234F late-filing fee of Rs 5,000 (reduced to Rs 1,000 where total income does not exceed Rs 5,00,000); at Rs 15,25,000 of income, Anaya's fee would be Rs 5,000. The lesson is that the 15 September 2025 date is the one that switches both section 234A and section 234F on.

Common Mistakes

These are the errors that most often turn a routine non-audit filing into a notice or an avoidable payment.

Assuming advance-tax interest also moved. The single biggest misreading of Circular 6/2025 is treating it as a reprieve from sections 234B and 234C. It is not. The advance-tax instalment dates - 15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March - are fixed by Rule 119A and section 211, and the section 234C computation keys off those dates, not the ITR filing date. The circular moved the section 139(1) due date, so it touches section 234A only. A taxpayer who under-paid the 15 June 2025 instalment still owes section 234C interest even though the return deadline became 15 September 2025.

Thinking audit cases got the same relief. Circular 6/2025 is confined to clause (c). The audit-case due date remains 31 October 2025 under clause (a) and the transfer-pricing date remains 30 November 2025 under clause (aa) unless a separate notification says otherwise. Non-audit taxpayers who wrongly believed they had until 31 October 2025 - conflating the two - have filed after 15 September 2025 and been charged section 234A and section 234F for their trouble.

Treating 15 September 2025 as the last possible date. It is the due date, not the final date. A belated return under section 139(4) can still be filed up to 31 December 2025 for AY 2025-26, and a revised return under section 139(5) has the same 31 December 2025 limit. Both, however, carry the section 234F fee and continuing section 234A interest, and a belated return forfeits the right to carry forward certain losses. Our explainer on what happens when PAN becomes inoperative for missing Aadhaar linking covers a related trap: a return can be filed on time yet fail processing because the PAN was inoperative on the filing date.

Forgetting the extension does not help if tax is unpaid. Section 234A interest is charged on the tax that remains unpaid as at the due date. Moving the due date to 15 September 2025 only helps a taxpayer who clears the self-assessment balance by then. Interest keeps accruing on any amount still outstanding after 15 September 2025, regardless of when the return form is uploaded.

FAQ

Did Circular 6/2025 extend the deadline for audit cases to 15 September 2025?

No. The circular extends only the clause (c) date from 31 July 2025 to 15 September 2025. Clause (c) is the "any other assessee" category - non-audit individuals, HUFs and pensioners. Audit cases fall under clause (a), whose due date for AY 2025-26 is 31 October 2025, and that date is not changed by Circular 6/2025.

Under which provision did the CBDT grant this extension?

Under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which empowers the CBDT to issue orders and relaxations for the administration of the Act. Circular No. 06/2025, dated 27 May 2025 (F. No. 225/205/2024/ITA-II), exercises that power to move the section 139(1) due date for clause (c) assessees.

Does the extension reduce my advance-tax interest under section 234C?

No. Sections 234B and 234C are tied to the advance-tax instalment schedule (15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March), not to the ITR filing due date. The extension only affects section 234A, which runs from the day after the extended due date of 15 September 2025.

What interest applies if I file after 15 September 2025?

Section 234A simple interest at 1% per month or part of a month on the unpaid tax, from 16 September 2025 until you file, plus a section 234F late-filing fee of Rs 5,000 (Rs 1,000 if total income does not exceed Rs 5,00,000). If you had no tax outstanding on 15 September 2025, section 234A is nil but the section 234F fee can still apply.

Can I still file after 15 September 2025?

Yes. A belated return under section 139(4) for AY 2025-26 can be filed up to 31 December 2025, and a revised return under section 139(5) has the same 31 December 2025 limit. Both attract the section 234F fee and any section 234A interest, and a belated return can cost you the carry-forward of certain losses.

Will the extension change whether the old or new regime is better for me?

No - the extension only moves a date; it does not change slabs, deductions or the section 87A rebate (up to Rs 60,000 in the new regime for FY 2025-26). Compare the two regimes on the new-regime calculator before you file.

Where can I read the circular itself?

Circular No. 06/2025 is published on the Income Tax Department portal at incometax.gov.in. For the underlying provisions, section 139, section 119, section 234A and section 234F of the Income-tax Act, 1961 are available on the India Code portal and the department's e-filing site.