Finance Ministry extends deadline for tax returns to September
The Ministry of Finance has extended the due date for the submission of individual annual tax returns from 30 June to the end of September.
In the past, the tax due date for individuals has been postponed a few times but then only by one month. The fact that the ministry has extended the deadline by a full quarter (the first time in history) shows just what disruption the lockdown has caused to companies’ ability to process tax returns.
In a statement issued on 15 June, Tonateni Shidhudhu, the ministry’s spokesperson said that this extension is only for the filing of returns but not for payment of tax which might be due by the 30th June or any other date after end of June.
“Taxpayers are further informed that the deadline for the incentive programme for using online tax system in the form of waving penalties charged on tax accounts will also be extended to 30 September 2020,” Shidhudhu said.
Shidhudhu noted that an individual income tax return declaration is validated against the information submitted by the employer, hence assessments for employees will not be completed when such employer has not submitted all monthly returns, and these assessments will be placed on hold by the system waiting for all pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) returns for the year to be submitted online by the employer.
