I-T Portal: Finance minister’s deadline over, taxpayers continue to face glitches

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Taxpayers are still scrambling to file Income Tax returns as the glitches on the new e-filing portal are continuing even after the September 15 deadline set by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to resolve the technical issues has passed. The e-filing portal developer Infosys was given time till September 15 to resolve all the problems faced by the taxpayers.

Taxpayers still facing problems

Individual taxpayers continue to find it difficult to file their IT returns on the new platform. The Economic Times quoted Chandan Kumar Hegde, president of the Karnataka State Chartered Accountants’ Association, saying, “Some features such as the pre-filled form for interest payments on FD and others are still not updated…We have made presentations (to the government and Infosys). Maybe 50-60% of it is implemented.”

Individual taxpayers continue to post screenshots of the glitches they’re receiving while filing their Income Tax returns. According to a report, even routine tasks like viewing an adjournment in ongoing assessments, complying with the ‘Vivad Se Vishwas’ scheme or uploading digital signatures, were throwing up glitches.

The government has extended the deadline for individual taxpayers to file their ITR till December 31. However, 1% interest for each month of delay beyond the original deadline of July 31 will be levied. This has drawn criticism from Chartered Accountants and taxpayers as the government is charging interest for technical failures.

The Background

The new Income Tax e-filing portal, developed by Infosys, went live on June 7. However, since it was launched, the taxpayers faced several problems in filing their returns due to technical glitches on the website. Amid the rising complaints from the users, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a meeting with Infosys CEO Salil Parekh on August 23 and expressed her ‘deep dissapointment’ over the issue. She asked the IT giant to resolve the issues pertaining to the functionalities of the portal by September 15.