Income tax return filing: Taxpayers have reported several issues, including difficulty accessing Form 26AS/AIS/TIS due to glitches in the portal, and discrepancies between figures in TIS and AIS.
With the July 31 deadline for filing income tax returns approaching, many taxpayers are encountering significant challenges with the e-filing portal.
Read More:- ITR filing deadline to be extended amidst complaints of e-filing portal issues?
This year, the prevalence of issues with the portal has prompted an influx of grievances on social media platforms.
Various chartered accountant associations have also taken steps to correspond with the tax department, highlighting the difficulties taxpayers and professionals face when using the e-filing ITR portal.
What are the tax glitches?
Taxpayers have reported several issues, including difficulty accessing Form 26AS/AIS/TIS due to glitches in the portal, and discrepancies between figures in TIS and AIS.
Read More: ITR Filing 2024: Penalty For Late Filing, PAN, Aadhaar Mismatch, Income Misreporting
Joint income is also being reported in the statements of both joint account holders, leading to scrutiny notices despite timely notifications from taxpayers.
Additionally, the AIS/TIS portal offers a limited set of response options, which may not always capture specific situations accurately. Many taxpayers report that updates to their responses in TIS do not appear promptly, causing frustration.
Continuous buffering and other technical issues are hindering taxpayers’ ability to complete form submissions.
There are instances where pre-filled data in the ITR, such as salary, interest income, and TDS figures, do not match the data in Form 26AS.
Read More: ITR Filing 2024: What is the penalty amount for filing income tax returns after the due date?
Taxpayers with business income face 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 appear while taxpayers attempt to file their returns, leading to delays in successful submission.
There have also been 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. Additionally, some taxpayers are unable to download acknowledgments of filed ITRs, which are essential for validating their compliance.
Read More: What is the difference between ITR-1 and ITR-2 forms?
Will tax department extend 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.
