NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday conveyed “deep disappointment and concerns” of the government and taxpayers to Salil Parekh, chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys, because of continuing glitches in the e-filing portal of the income tax (I-T) department even after two-and-a-half months of its launch, the finance ministry said.
Sitharaman met Parekh in the afternoon and sought an explanation from Infosys for the “repeated issues” faced by taxpayers, it said in a statement. She had summoned him for an explanation on why glitches in the new portal (incometax. gov.in) still persisted months after its launch on June 7.
Parekh on Monday assured that Infosys was working expeditiously to ensure a glitch-free experience to the taxpayers on the portal, the statement said after the meeting.
Sitharaman demanded that the issues faced by taxpayers on current functionalities of the portal should be resolved by September 15 so that taxpayers and professionals can work seamlessly on the portal, it said.
Parekh said “he and his team are doing everything to ensure the smooth functioning of the portal”. He said over 750 team members are working on this project and Pravin Rao, COO of Infosys, is personally overseeing this project.
In the meeting, the government emphasised the need for putting in more resources and efforts on the part of Infosys so that the much-delayed delivery of agreed services is ensured. “Parekh was also sensitised on the difficulties that the taxpayers were facing and the problems that are arising on account of the delays in the functioning of the portal,” it said.
{{/usCountry}}In the meeting, the government emphasised the need for putting in more resources and efforts on the part of Infosys so that the much-delayed delivery of agreed services is ensured. “Parekh was also sensitised on the difficulties that the taxpayers were facing and the problems that are arising on account of the delays in the functioning of the portal,” it said.
{{/usCountry}}Infosys did not respond to an email query on this matter.
Tax professionals and chartered accountants (CAs) have said the site being completely down is causing immense inconvenience to taxpayers as the deadline for filing ITR is approaching.
“There is a rush as the last date for filing personal I-T returns is September 30. The government may have to extend the deadline to salvage the situation,” said Tarun Kumar, a CA.
He added that many functions like the filing of rectification applications or the registration of legal heir to file returns on behalf of a deceased hasn’t been enabled yet on the portal.
The total number of taxpayers for the assessment year 2019-20 was over 87 million. The total number of ITRs filed, including revised returns, in the financial year 2020-21 was 73.89 million.