With the June 31 deadline mounting closer for furnishing Goods and Services Tax returns for financial year 2017-18, the Institute of Chartered Accountants has sought an extension in the due compliance by a period of four months. The accountants’ body has written to the GST Council on June 19, 2019, ahead of its first meeting on June 21 under the new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.“We have written to the GST Council Chairman who incidentally happens to be the finance minister. The Institute has asked for an extension in the Goods and Services Tax return filing till October 31, 2019. In the upcoming GST council meeting , we hope the appropriate decision will be taken,” the ICAI ’s GST and Indirect Tax Committee Chairman Sushil Kumar Goyal told ETCFO in a telephonic conversation.“Annual GST return forms were only out in the month of March and taxpayers have still not understood them completely. Further, there have been many changes in the GST law, and awareness is not much there… And also if you see, the goods and services tax network portal is not working as desired,” Goyal added.In its recommendation to the Council, the Institute also factored in the September 30 deadline for furnishing income tax returns for the financial year 2018-19, he said.The Goods and Services Tax regulation was rolled out on July 1, 2017. Taxpayers are required to furnish GST returns for FY18 by June 31, 2019. The compliance exercise presumes greater significance since this will be the first time businesses will be filing returns under the new indirect-tax law.A few of the other bodies including Tax Bar Association have also sought an extension in the GST return filing on the similar lines.