The CBDT Chairman acknowledged taxpayers’ concerns about delays in generating TDS (Tax Deduction at Source) and Form 16 certificates, as well as the “slowness” of the Income Tax Portal. He assured that these issues have now been addressed.
“Even hourly filings are at an all-time high. As a result, I believe we can confidently state that we will be able to address it within the next six days. Most of the issues have been handled and resolved. There were no reports of downtime yesterday, and there are no issues today,” he stated late Thursday afternoon.
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According to the CBDT Chief, the Income Tax Department has seen a significant increase in the number of transactions recorded this year. Additionally, some government officials responsible for issuing deduction certificates were also on election duty, causing delays.
As of July 22, 2024, over 40 million Income Tax Returns ( ITRs ) have been submitted, marking an increase of over 8% compared to the same period last year, according to the income tax department’s website. Data from the Press Information Bureau shows that the 40 million ITR milestone was reached on July 24, 2023, last year.
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Despite numerous requests from Chartered Accountants and taxpayers to extend the July 31 deadline, the Income Tax Department has not responded and is unlikely to grant an extension. As of July 16, the number of ITRs filed daily has already surpassed 1.5 million and is expected to rise as the July 31 due date approaches. According to the CBDT chairman, 2.2 million ITRs were filed on July 23 alone. Last year, 67.7 million ITRs were filed by the July 31 deadline, and current trends suggest this year’s filings will soon exceed that number, which is a key reason why the deadline is not expected to be extended.
The Income Tax Department has warned the public about false information circulating on social media, claiming that the e-filing deadline has been extended to August 31, 2024. The department has clarified that this claim is untrue and that the deadline remains July 31, 2024. The department is collaborating with service providers to resolve major issues on the e-filing portal.
The CBDT chairman stated, according to a PTI news report, “We are engaging closely with our service providers Infosys, IBM, and Hitachi who are on the job. The volumes are high and compliance is also good… I have been assured that the website will function properly.”
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Despite the ongoing technical issues on the e-filing portal, including problems with Aadhaar-based OTP authentication, slow page loading, and upload errors, it is unlikely that the deadline for filing ITRs will be extended unless there is a significant technical issue on the website.
The Income Tax website advises taxpayers facing technical problems to contact the toll-free helpdesk numbers (1800 103 0025 or 1800 419 0025) or email Efilingwebmanager@incometax.gov.in while Chartered accountant associations have been urging the tax department to resolve these issues promptly.
“Reports of slowness on the website led us to take corrective measures, including upgrading hardware and implementing solutions,” the CBDT chief assured.
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