Last-minute ITR filers face glitches galore on income tax portal: ‘Infosys got ₹4,200 crore for this?’

ITR filing last date: The income tax return filing season for 2024-25 ends on July 31 for all categories of taxpayers.

As the deadline for filing income tax returns (ITR) ends on Wednesday, July 31, many last-minute filers encountered technical glitches on the income tax portal.

These issues left several users, who were struggling to complete their submissions on time, frustrated. Many taxpayers tagged software giant Infosys that has developed the income tax portal.

“On the last day of ITR filing, the portal remains inaccessible due to persistent loading issue. I respectfully request that you initiate portal improvements starting tomorrow and ensure a seamless and efficient experience for taxpayers in the next year,” chartered accountant Nikhita Kolte-Gore wrote on X (formerly Twitter), tagging Income Tax Department and Infosys.

Take a look at a few of the comments on X:

“We are engaging closely with our service providers Infosys, IBM and Hitachi who are on the job. The volumes are high and the compliance is also good... I have been assured that the website will function properly," Ravi Agrawal, chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), was quoted as saying by news agency PTI last week.

The I-T Department has asked income tax return filers to not make bogus claims for expenses, under-report their earnings or exaggerate deductions as this is a punishable offence and causes a delay in issuance of refunds.

According to the Income Tax Department and the CBDT, which is its administrative body, over five crore ITRs were filed, as of July 26. For the 2022-23 fiscal, 8.61 crore ITRs were filed.

Currently, India has two personal income tax regimes. In the old income tax regime, the tax rates are relatively high but taxpayers can claim several exemptions and deductions. However, in the new tax regime, tax rates are lower but fewer deductions.