Tax filings reflect portal bug getting fixed: Govt

Tax filings reflect portal bug getting fixed: Govt

1.2 Crore Returns For FY21 Filed With 76.2L Taxpayers Using New Online Facility: CBDT

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:09.09.2021

After weeks of tussle with Infosys, the vendor for the new tax portal, the government on Wednesday said that several technical issues on the faulty platform are being “progressively addressed” and this was reflected in the “positive” return filing trends.

So far, nearly 1.2 crore returns for the last financial year have been filed, with over 76.2 lakh tax payers using the new portal’s online utility for the purpose, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said.

Describing it as an encouraging trend, CBDT said nearly 95 lakh income tax returns have been e-verified, with over seven lakh having been processed. E-verification of returns is a pre-condition for processing of returns.

The statement marks a change in the department’s tone towards Infosys, which had blamed India’s premier IT company for the glitches on the platform. It comes days after RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya attacked Infosys for funding “anti-India forces” and messing with the portal. RSS, however, distanced itself from the report.

Amid complaints from the vocal tax professionals, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman resorted to “summoning” Infosys CEO Salil Parekh twice and has now set a deadline of September 15 for making the portal glitch-free.

Even now, several taxpayers are complaining about their inability to log in or file their returns.

“The ministry of finance has been regularly monitoring the resolution of issues with Infosys, which is the Managed Services Provider for the project… It is reiterated that the (income tax) department is continuously engaged with Infosys to ensure a smooth filing experience to taxpayers,” CBDT said. It added that return filing has increased to 3.2 lakh daily in September.

In addition, taxpayers have been able to view over 8.7 lakh notices issued by the department under the faceless assessment, appeal or penalty proceedings and over 2.6 lakh responses have been filed so far. “An average of 8,285 notices for e-proceedings are being issued and 5,889 responses are being filed in September 2021 on a daily basis,” the tax department said.

The numbers are also meant to signal to taxpayers that things are improving and they should go ahead with filing their returns as the deadline is fast approaching.