The government today extended the last date for e-filing of income tax returns till August 31 after power failure disrupted normal life in many parts of the country.

"On consideration of the reports of disturbance of general life caused due to failure of power and further in consideration of the fact that the e-filing of returns for a specified category of individuals and Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) has been made mandatory, CBDT has extended the 'due date' of filing of returns to August 31, 2012," an official release said.

This has been done in respect of assessees who are liable to file income tax returns by July 31, it said. Two consecutive power failures due to technical snag hit many states of the country leading to disruption of various services, including Railways.

Northern, Eastern and North-Eastern grids tripped today, leading to power failure in several states affecting more than half of the population of the country. The Northern Grid collapsed for the second time in two days.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has made e-filing of tax return mandatory for individuals with income over Rs 10 lakh. E-filing for such assessees was optional till 2010-11. The Income Tax Department had received a record 1.64 crore e-Returns in 2011-12 financial year.

Currently, 'Business Houses' with receipts of Rs 60 lakh and professionals with income of Rs 15 lakh are required to e-file their return with digital signature. As on March 31, 2012, there were 19,684,592 tax payers who had registered for e-filing