Income Tax Filing Issues Prompt Call for Deadline Extension
With the income tax return (ITR) filing deadline of July 31 rapidly approaching, a total of 3.42 crore ITRs have been filed for the assessment year 2024-25. However, the Income Tax Bar Association (ITBA) has raised concerns about the performance of the income tax portal, citing numerous technical issues that have hindered the filing process.
Problems with the Income Tax Portal
The ITBA, a long-standing organization for tax professionals established in 1947, has reported persistent problems with the income tax portal. According to their letter to the finance ministry, the portal has been plagued by:
- Slow speed
- Upload-related issues
- Non-responsive pages
- Issues with Aadhaar-based OTP verification
These issues have been ongoing for nearly a month, affecting the ability of taxpayers and tax professionals to file their returns efficiently.
Request for Deadline Extension
The ITBA has formally requested the government to address these issues and extend the deadline for filing ITRs. Their recommendations include:
- Instructing the technical team and vendors responsible for the portal’s maintenance to resolve the technical problems and ensure smooth functioning.
- Extending the due date for the assessment year 2024-25 from July 31, 2024, to August 31, 2024.
In a recent communication to the government, the ITBA emphasized that the current state of the portal is causing significant delays and difficulties for both taxpayers and tax professionals. They noted that the issues with the portal have been ongoing for the past 20 days, including login difficulties and problems with submitting schedules in ITR 3.
Comparison with Previous Years
Last year, the income tax portal functioned smoothly, with record high filings of around 6.77 crore ITRs by July 31, 2023. This number increased to 8.18 crore by December 31, 2023. In contrast, the number of ITRs filed this year is significantly lower, with only 3.42 crore filed so far. The ITBA points out that this year’s figures are about half of last year’s, despite the deadline being just 12 days away.
Impact on Taxpayers and Tax Professionals
The ITBA’s letter highlights the hard work of taxpayers and tax professionals under the current challenging conditions. They report delays in updating data in the Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS), which are impacting the filing process.
For more details, you can view the ITBA’s letter on their official Twitter page: ITBA Letter on Twitter.
Conclusion
The issues with the income tax portal are causing significant disruptions in the filing process. The ITBA’s call for an extension of the filing deadline reflects the need for urgent improvements to ensure that taxpayers can meet their obligations without undue stress.