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Daily Intelligence Capsule — 31 August 2026

Live EditionMonday, 31 August 2026

57th GST Council Meeting Scheduled for 12 September 2026

Registration Simplification, ITC Norms and GSTAT Functioning Expected on Agenda

GST Updates

The GST Council is scheduled to meet on 12 September 2026 for the first time in over a year, with registration simplification, Section 16(2)(c) ITC norms, and GSTAT operationalisation expected on the agenda.

Read the briefing

Compliance Calendar

ITR-3/ITR-4 Due Date 31 August 2026: Last-Day Checklist and Section 234F/234A Penalty Guide

The extended due date for ITR-3 and ITR-4 (non-audit taxpayers), AY 2026-27, falls today — a practitioner's last-day checklist plus a worked illustration of the Section 234F fee and Section 234A interest cost of missing it.

Read: ITR-3/ITR-4 Due Date 31 August 2026: Last-Day Checklist and Section 234F/234A Penalty Guide

Did You Know

A Belated Return Doesn't Kill Your Business Loss, It Just Clips Its Wings

A business loss reported in a belated income tax return isn't gone — it can still be set off against other income in the very same year. What Section 80 read with Section 139(3) actually takes away is narrower and easier to miss: the right to carry that loss forward into future years. Unabsorbed depreciation under Section 32(2) is the quiet exception — it carries forward indefinitely no matter when the return was filed, making it the one loss that timely filing was never actually protecting.

Quiz of the Day

The Cost of Filing Late

Your client, a freelance IT consultant filing ITR-3 for AY 2026-27, has total taxable income of ₹8,00,000. As of today's due date, ₹15,000 of self-assessment tax remains unpaid. Distracted by a family emergency, your client instead files the return on 15 October 2026. Your client also made a genuine business loss this year that they were counting on to offset next year's profits. What are your client's Section 234F late fee and Section 234A interest amounts for this delay — and can the business loss still be carried forward to next year?