The CBDT has extended till January 31 the last date for taxpayers to avail a "one-time" facility to apply for compounding of income tax offences, an order issued on Friday said. The earlier deadline was December 31, 2019. In I-T parlance, compounding means that the taxman does not file a prosecution case against the offender or tax evader in court in lieu of payment of due taxes and surcharges. The decision to extend the last date was taken "in view of references received from field formations, including requests made by ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) chapters wherein it has been brought to the notice of the CBDT that the taxpayers could not avail the benefit of the one-time relaxation window due to genuine hardships," the order issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) said. The order was accessed by PTI. Hence, the order stated, the date has been extended to give a final opportunity to such taxpayers and reduce the pendency of existing prosecution cases before the courts. Applications, as per the procedure of the scheme, are to be filed before the appropriate competent authority that is either a principal chief commissioner or a chief commissioner or a principal director general or director general of the Income-Tax Department "on or before" January 31, 2020.