3.59-Crore Income Tax Returns Filed On New Portal As Deadline Nears

As many as 3.59 crore returns have been filed in the Income Tax Department’s new e-filing portal developed by Infosys Ltd. that’s faced glitches in the past.

The tax return-filing process has picked up pace in the ongoing assessment year as on average, over 6 lakh returns are being filed on a daily basis, the Department of Revenue said in a statement. The deadline for filing tax returns was extended for the second time this year to Dec. 31.

Nearly 2.69 crore out of the 3.11 crore verified returns were validated through Aadhaar one-time passwords, the tax department said. Aadhaar-based OTPs, among other methods, are necessary for the tax department to commence processing of the returns or issue refunds.

Around 2.38 crore ITRs have also been processed and refunds amounting to Rs 90.95 crore for assessment year 2021-22 have been issued so far, the tax department said.

According to the tax department, 5.95 crore ITRs for assessment year 2020-21 were filed till Jan. 10, 2021, and 5.67 crore for the year before that by Sept. 10, 2019.

Constant reminders to taxpayers through emails, text messages and media campaigns were implemented. This includes webinars with frontline officials of the department to assist taxpayers in e-filing of ITRs organised by the Directorate of Systems.

The platform, which was launched in June, came under scrutiny in September when it crashed, with taxpayers unable to file their returns.

Senior officials of Ministry of Finance headed by Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj met with Infosys’ executives, including Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh, on Thursday to discuss preparedness of the e-filing website as peak filing period approaches.

The Infosys team assured of smooth operations with efforts like improved technical infrastructure and a dedicated war room to monitor the portal’s performance, according to the tax department.