Last date for filing income tax returns today, but portal glitches worry many in Ludhiana

A lawyer specialising in sales tax litigation said the income e-filing portal had slowed down repeatedly over the past four to five days, with users complaining of failed log-ins, delayed acknowledgements, and constant error messages.

“Despite this extension, taxpayers are struggling. We have raised the issue with the Income Tax Department, but to no avail. On Sunday, the server worked only for about two hours at night. The deadline will be over at midnight on Monday, and a penalty will have to be paid by the assesses afterwards for no fault of theirs,” said K P S Bawa of Didar Singh and Company, based in Ludhiana.

M K Gupta, a Ludhiana-based chartered accountant, said, “The server issue peaked as the last date approached, leaving lakhs of assessees in limbo. Instead of easing compliance, the extension has turned into harassment of honest taxpayers who are being forced to wait hours just to upload a return.”

Social media has also been abuzz with complaints, with users tagging the finance ministry to highlight their difficulties.

In 2023-24, India recorded about 7.28 crore ITR filings up to July 31, 2024–a growth of nearly 7.5 per cent over the previous year, according to government data. The bulk of these returns were from non-audit categories, under which most individual taxpayers fall.

This year, projections suggest the numbers could be even higher. As of early September, reports indicated that over 6.29 crore returns had already been filed. With the extended deadline of September 15, the total is expected to cross the previous year’s numbers. However, Bawa said the technical issues on the portal could slow down this momentum.

A penalty of Rs 1000 is charged if an income tax return is not filed for annual income less than Rs 5 lakh, while it’s Rs 5,000 for income above Rs 5 lakh.

Professional bodies and taxpayers have urged the CBDT to strengthen the e-filing infrastructure and consider penal relief if portal disruptions prevent timely compliance.

“Taxpayers are ready and willing to file, but the system must be equally ready to accept the returns. A representation has already been given by the All India Federation of Tax Practitioners to the finance ministry seeking an extension due to the slow server,” said Vishal Sharma, an advocate.

With just hours left for the September 15 deadline to be over, pressure is mounting on income tax assessees.