The extension did not come. The audit report is due Wednesday
Every association that asked has been answered by silence, which in tax administration is an answer. The date on the statute is the date.
This paper told you last weeknot to plan around an extension that had been requested but not granted. That was the right way round. As of 25 September the CBDT had notified nothing, and the report under section 44AB remains due on 30 September 2026 — a Wednesday, three days after this issue is dated. Professional bodies asked for 31 October and were not refused so much as not answered, which in tax administration amounts to the same thing.
It is worth being clear about why the extension did not arrive, because the reasoning will hold next year too. Extensions have historically followed a portal that stopped working or a calamity that stopped people working — they are a response to something breaking. Nothing broke this September. And the revenue position gave no help to the argument: net direct tax collections to 17 September were ₹12.12 lakh crore, up 12.96%, with advance tax up 16.18%. A department that is ahead of its numbers has no reason to buy time, and the associations were asking for relief from workload rather than from failure. That is a real problem for the profession in September. It has never been a ground for an extension.