Haryana State Tax Bar Association Seeks Income Tax Audit Due Date Extension

The Haryana State Tax Bar Association has joined a growing group of professional bodies seeking more time to complete and furnish tax audit reports for Assessment Year (AY) 2026-27.

In a representation dated September 16, 2026, the association, along with district tax bar associations and tax bar representatives across Haryana, asked the Union Finance Ministry and senior Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) officials to extend the current September 30, 2026 tax audit deadline by at least 30 days.

The request comes as tax professionals face multiple compliance requirements, reconciliation work and technical issues during the current audit season. Importantly, no extension has been officially announced yet. The September 30 deadline remains applicable unless the CBDT formally changes it.

What Has the Haryana Tax Bar Requested?

The Haryana State Tax Bar Association has asked the government to extend the due date for furnishing tax audit reports for FY 2025-26, corresponding to AY 2026-27.

Its preferred request is an extension of at least 30 days, which would move the deadline beyond September 30. The association has also asked the government to issue any notification or circular at the earliest so that taxpayers, chartered accountants and other professionals can plan their remaining compliance work.

The representation was addressed to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal and other senior CBDT officials.

The association stressed that its request is not intended to avoid statutory compliance. Instead, it argued that additional time would allow tax audits to be completed with appropriate verification and professional care.

Why Is the Tax Audit Deadline Under Pressure?

The September 30 deadline falls during a particularly busy compliance period.

Tax professionals are simultaneously dealing with tax audits, financial-statement verification and multiple reconciliations. According to the Haryana association's representation, the workload includes reconciliation of books with GST records, TDS/TCS information, AIS/TIS and Form 26AS, along with bank statements, financial statements, statutory disclosures and supporting documents.

AIS, or Annual Information Statement, provides taxpayers with information collected by the tax department from various reporting entities. Form 26AS similarly contains important tax-related information, including tax deducted or collected at source.

Reconciling these records with accounting books is important because discrepancies can affect the accuracy of the final tax reporting.

The association says that compressing this work into the remaining period could put pressure on the quality and accuracy of audit reporting.

Income Tax Act Transition Adds Another Layer

Another major issue highlighted by the association is India's transition from the Income-tax Act, 1961 to the Income-tax Act, 2025.

There is an important technical distinction here.

The tax audit for FY 2025-26 / AY 2026-27 continues under the existing framework of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Income Tax Department has clarified that tax audit reports for this year continue to use Forms 3CA, 3CB and 3CD.

At the same time, tax professionals are required to understand the new legislation and prepare for the framework that applies to the subsequent tax year.

The Haryana association says this parallel transition has increased the professional workload during an already demanding audit season.

Portal and Technical Issues Also Cited

The representation also points to technical difficulties associated with the tax-filing process.

The association referred to challenges involving uploading, validation, reconciliation, form generation, digital signatures and data matching.

Such issues may appear administrative, but they can become significant when thousands of reports have to be prepared and submitted within a fixed deadline.

Several other professional associations have raised similar concerns. Moneycontrol reported on September 17 that multiple tax and chartered accountant bodies were seeking an extension to October 31, citing portal issues, reconciliation challenges and the compressed compliance window.

This indicates that the Haryana request is part of a broader professional demand rather than an isolated representation.

What Is the Current Tax Audit Due Date?

For taxpayers covered by tax-audit requirements, the current due date remains September 30, 2026.

The Income Tax Department's official guidance states that taxpayers covered under the relevant tax-audit provisions for FY 2025-26 must obtain their audit report by September 30, 2026. The chartered accountant files the report electronically, after which the taxpayer has to approve it through their income-tax e-filing account.

Therefore, taxpayers should not assume that the deadline has already been extended simply because professional associations have requested additional time.

Until an official CBDT notification or other authorised government communication changes the deadline, September 30 remains the date to work toward.

Who Needs a Tax Audit?

Not every taxpayer needs to undergo a tax audit.

The Income Tax Department's current guidance states that tax-audit requirements apply to specified taxpayers under the applicable provisions. For businesses, the general turnover threshold is more than ₹1 crore, although the threshold can rise to ₹10 crore where cash receipts and cash payments stay within the prescribed 5% limits.

For professionals, the specified gross-receipts threshold is more than ₹50 lakh. There are also circumstances involving taxpayers using or opting out of presumptive taxation provisions where audit requirements can arise.

Because the rules can depend on the nature of the business, profession and tax position, taxpayers should determine their individual requirement with a qualified tax professional rather than relying only on the turnover figure.

Will the Government Extend the Deadline?

At present, the answer is not confirmed.

The Haryana State Tax Bar Association has formally requested an extension, and several other professional bodies have made similar representations. However, a request from an association does not itself change the statutory deadline.

As of September 17, the CBDT had not officially announced an extension beyond September 30, according to multiple current reports.

That distinction is especially important for taxpayers searching online for an “income tax audit deadline extension” because reports about demands for an extension can easily be mistaken for an actual government notification.

For now, taxpayers subject to audit should continue preparing for September 30 while monitoring official CBDT and Income Tax Department communications.

What Should Taxpayers Do Now?

Taxpayers who require an audit should not delay their work while waiting for a possible extension.

The practical priority should be to complete accounting records, reconcile GST and tax information, provide supporting documents to the auditor and ensure that the tax audit report is properly filed and approved.

If the government later grants additional time, that could provide breathing room. But relying on a potential extension before it is officially announced creates unnecessary compliance risk.

This is particularly relevant for businesses dealing with multiple sources of financial information, because unresolved differences between books, GST records, TDS information, AIS, Form 26AS and bank records can take time to investigate.

What Happens Next?

The immediate focus is on whether the CBDT responds to the growing requests from professional bodies.

The Haryana association has specifically asked for at least a 30-day extension, while other associations have also sought additional time.

For taxpayers, the key distinction is between demand and decision. A professional association can request an extension, but only the competent government authority can formally alter the deadline.

Until that happens, September 30 remains the operative tax-audit due date for AY 2026-27.

Bottom Line

The Haryana State Tax Bar Association has requested at least 30 additional days for filing tax audit reports for AY 2026-27, citing heavy compliance workloads, reconciliation requirements, technical issues and the broader transition to the Income-tax Act, 2025.

The demand comes as several other professional bodies seek similar relief. However, there is no confirmed extension yet, and the Income Tax Department continues to show September 30, 2026 as the tax-audit deadline for FY 2025-26.

Taxpayers should therefore continue working toward the existing deadline and rely on an official CBDT notification before assuming that additional time has been granted.

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This article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered tax or financial advice.