December 31 revised ITR deadline: 15 lakh returns revised amid CBDT action on bogus donation claims

In a statement, the department said over 21 lakh taxpayers have also updated their returns during the current fiscal year, paying an additional Rs 2,500 crore in taxes.

The department advised taxpayers to review the accuracy of their deduction and exemption claims and revise their returns, if required, by December 31, 2025, to avoid further scrutiny.

Taxpayers whose claims are genuine and in accordance with the law are not required to take any further action, it clarified.

December 31 is the last date to file a revised return for AY 2025–26. From January 1, taxpayers seeking corrections will have to file an updated return for the assessment year.

Earlier this month, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said data analysis revealed a large number of bogus deduction claims, particularly for donations made to Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) and certain charitable institutions, resulting in reduced tax liabilities and fraudulent refunds.

According to the CBDT, enforcement actions showed that several RUPPs were non-operational, non-filers, or inactive at their registered addresses, and were allegedly being used as conduits for fund routing, hawala transactions, cross-border remittances, and issuance of fake donation receipts.

Follow-up searches conducted on some RUPPs and trusts uncovered incriminating evidence related to bogus individual donations and fraudulent corporate social responsibility (CSR) claims.

Following these findings, the CBDT launched the NUDGE campaign on December 12, issuing email and SMS advisories to taxpayers flagged for questionable deduction claims.