Income Tax Dept Extends TDS Certificate Issuance Deadline Due to ITR Portal Issues

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has acknowledged the issues and technical glitches on the e-filing income tax portal and thus extended the TDS certificate issuance timeline for Q3 (quarter ending December 2025) to March 31, 2026.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes received representations that reported technical glitches on the e-filing portal. It had caused delays in issuing TDS certificates for the quarter ending 31st December 2025 according to the Circular No.2/2026. The CBDT issued on March 26 2026. The glitches have prevented deductors from producing and distributing the certificates by the required deadline.

The CBDT extended the deadline for issuing TDS certificates under section 203 of the Act and rule 31 of the Rules because deductors faced genuine difficulties. The TDS certificate issued during the extended period will be recognised as having been issued within the official time frame.

The Income-tax Act of 1961 Section 203, authorises TDS certificate issuance. Rule 31 of the Income-tax Rules 1962 establishes the timeframes for TDS certificate issuance. The Income-Tax Act of 1961 Section 203 mandates that any person who performs tax deduction at source must provide a TDS certificate to the deductee whose income has been deducted. 

The TDS certificate from the deductor allows the deductee to prove their deduction. They will use it to obtain credit for their income tax return process. The certificate is issued to you through banks, your employer, and other organisations.

Ashish Niraj, who serves as Partner of A S N & Company told ET Wealth Online that Section 203 of the Income Tax Act 1961 mandates deductors to provide TDS Certificates. The TDS certificate includes the deductor’s name and TAN, along with the deducted amount and tax deduction rate. It allows taxpayers, pensioners, and bank FD holders to view the TDS amounts deducted from their income. Then they will check if their certificate shows the right TDS amount.

The TDS information will help you determine whether you may need to make additional self-assessment tax payments. The Form 16A submission deadline is set 15 days after the quarterly return submission date. But the system glitches prevented many deductors from issuing their TDS certificates for the third quarter of 2025.

Niray stated that the deadline extension allows deductors to issue certificates without penalties. This also benefits deductees by providing them with the necessary information.