Income tax portal glitches: FM summons Infosys CEO Salil Parekh

New Delhi, August 22

With the income tax portal still facing problems, the Ministry of Finance has summoned Infosys CEO Salil Parekh on Monday to explain to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman why even after two and a half months since its launch, the glitches in the new portal have not been resolved, said an official release.

Ever since its launch on June 7, the portal has been malfunctioning. Sitharaman had a similar interface with key officials of Infosys on June 22 in which chartered accountants, who had also been invited, highlighted the issues faced by taxpayers and tax professionals on the portal. “I wish it hadn’t turned out that way,” she had recently said. The Minister was also being provided with feedback every week by Infosys founder Nandan Nilekani.

The inability of many to file I-T returns has led to some of them being slapped with late fees, which the government has attributed to yet another glitch and has promised to refund the same. It has also affected the pace of refunds.

Till August 26 last year, the CBDT had issued refunds of over Rs 95,000 crore. This year, till August 16, refunds of about Rs 50,000 crore have been made, almost half the sanctions made last year, because people have been unable to file their returns due to faults in the portal.

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation website is also facing glitches. Several users have complained of long hours spent in trying to get business transacted, especially to get Aadhaar verified for e-nomination.