The deadline for filing Income Tax Return (ITR) is approaching and glitches in the online Income Tax e-filing portal are rising once again. The challenge has risen to such a level that the Income Tax Bar Association Calcutta has dispatched four letters to the Central Processing Unit of the Income Tax Department in Bengaluru for quick redressal as filing tax has become a real challenge.
“The challenges are rising like last year. Sometimes the portal won’t just respond, sometimes OTPs would not be generated. Even the nature of the problems can’t be predicted,” said secretary of the Income Tax Bar Association Calcutta.
Huge number of taxpayers
As many as 8.18 crore ITRs were filed in AY 2023-24 and therefore, glitches put a huge number of taxpayers at terrible discomfort.
Last date to file ITR 2 weeks away
The last date of filing ITR is July 31. Taxpayers are penalised with late fees that can be as much as Rs 5,000 and carry additional interest if one misses the deadline.
The problem seems to be a tragic action replay of the troubles in 2022, when a countrywide chorus put the finance ministry in deep embarrassment and they were forced to pull up Infosys – the company responsible for the maintenance of the site – publicly.
“Poor services” flayed
“We are compelled to give you a third reminder due to poor services of the portal and resulting hindrances in filing Income Tax Returns for AY 2024-25. It has become a serious concern now that the income tax portal glitches are still continuing without any satisfactory resolution. For the last few days, the portal service is mostly unavailable during the office hours. The situation is ignominious for professionals who have taken the responsibility of filing their clients’ IT returns,” wrote the Bar Association from Kolkata in a letter sent on July 13.
“Due to regular crash the data and information cannot be synchronised which is causing severe hindrance in the process,” the letter added.
Infosys in the dock
The company which upgraded the portal and maintains it, Infosys has been at the receiving end of a torrent of criticisms for the past couple of years but is still grappling with the problems.
On June 7, 2022, tagging Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, Income Tax Department authorities had written on their official social media handle “Issue relating to the search functionality of the e-filing website has come to our notice. The Income Tax Department is seized of the matter. @Infosys has been directed to look into it & @Infosys has confirmed that that they are resolving the issue on priority. @SalilParekh.”
No such response has been evident so far this year even as the trouble continues said income tax practitioner Manojit Banerjee.
ITR filing: For the past few years, filing ITRs have become troublesome with glitches in the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department. Infosys, the company that developed and maintained it, is grappling with the challenges this year too. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
