Technical glitches plague ITR 2024 filing: Will Centre extend deadline?
As the July 31 deadline for filing income tax returns (ITRs) for the financial year 2023-24 looms, taxpayers are grappling with persistent technical issues on the e-filing portal. The glitches have sparked a flurry of complaints on social media and raised alarm among chartered accountant associations. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has been actively addressing these concerns, reaching out to the Income Tax Department about issues related to Form 26AS, TIS, AIS and the e-filing process.
ICAI chairman highlights taxpayers' difficulties with e-filing portal
Chartered Accountant Piyush S Chhajed, Chairman of the Direct Taxes Committee at ICAI, has voiced concerns about the numerous difficulties taxpayers are encountering due to issues in the income-tax e-filing portal. Users have reported a variety of problems, including trouble accessing Form 26AS/AIS/TIS and discrepancies between figures in these statements. Instances where joint income is reported in both joint account holders' statements have also been noted, leading to scrutiny notices despite timely notifications from taxpayers.
Technical glitches continue to plague e-filing portal
In addition to the aforementioned problems, taxpayers have reported frequent error messages during the ITR filing process and inconsistencies between pre-filled data and actual data. Technical issues such as slow performance and incorrect display of tax credits have also been flagged. Some users are unable to download their filed ITR receipts, while others are struggling with the accurate reflection of dividend income in Schedule OS.
ITR filings increase despite persistent portal glitches
Despite these technical challenges, over 2.7 crore ITRs have been filed as of July 14, 2024. This represents a 13% increase compared to the same period last year. The number of ITRs filed per day surpassed 13 lakh on July 13 and continues to rise as the deadline nears. Notably, the milestones of filing 1 crore and 2 crore ITRs for AY 2024-25 were reached on June 23 and July 7, respectively, both earlier than last year.
Uncertainty looms over possible extension of ITR deadline
The question remains whether the government will extend the deadline due to these technical issues. Yeeshu Sehgal, Head of Tax Markets at AKM Global, a tax and consulting firm, noted that the decision to extend the deadline rests with the government. However, as of now, there has been no official announcement regarding an extension. It's worth noting that despite similar issues in previous years, the deadline for filing ITR without penalty was not extended in the last two financial years.
