With the July 31 deadline for filing income tax returns approaching, many taxpayers are encountering significant challenges with the e-filing portal.
This year, issues with the portal have led to an influx of grievances on social media platforms.
Various chartered accountant associations have also contacted the tax department, highlighting the difficulties faced by taxpayers and professionals when using the e-filing ITR portal.
What Are the Tax Glitches?
Taxpayers have reported several issues:
- Difficulty accessing Form 26AS/AIS/TIS due to glitches in the portal, and discrepancies between figures in TIS and AIS.
- Joint income being reported in the statements of both joint account holders, leading to scrutiny notices despite timely notifications from taxpayers.
- Limited response options on the AIS/TIS portal, which may not always capture specific situations accurately. Updates to responses in TIS do not appear promptly, causing frustration.
- Continuous buffering and other technical issues hindering taxpayers’ ability to complete form submissions.
- Pre-filled data in the ITR, such as salary, interest income, and TDS figures, not matching the data in Form 26AS.
- Taxpayers with business income facing difficulties with the correct reflection of dividend income in Schedule OS, as the current utility requires the income to be first reflected in business income and then reduced, complicating the process.
- Error messages frequently appearing while taxpayers attempt to file their returns, leading to delays in successful submission.
- Instances where the One Time Password (OTP) required for authentication is not received promptly, or at all, causing failed attempts to verify and submit returns. Some taxpayers are unable to download acknowledgments of filed ITRs, which are essential for validating their compliance.
Also read: Income Tax Notice: Avoid These 5 Transactions If You Don’t Want to Receive Immediate Notice
Will the Tax Department Extend the July 31 Deadline?
The Income Tax department has not given any official statement on whether the deadline to file ITR will be extended. However, there is growing speculation and concern about whether the deadline might be extended to accommodate those facing difficulties due to the e-filing glitches.
Despite these significant challenges, many taxpayers have already initiated the filing process for ITRs. As of July 14, 2024, over 2.7 crore ITRs have been filed, marking a 13% increase compared to the same period last year. The number of ITRs filed per day surpassed 13 lakhs on July 13 and continues to rise as the deadline nears. The milestone of filing 1 crore ITRs for AY 2024-25 was reached on June 23, 2024, and the 2 crore milestone was achieved on July 7, 2024, both earlier than last year.