Taxpayers are facing a tight deadline in that only three days are remaining until 15th September, the last day for filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs). Already users were reporting glitches in the e-filing portal, especially when it came to downloading the Annual Information Statements (AIS), Form 26AS, and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS). There have been huge traffic jams on the site causing delays; hence taxpayers are getting concerned about possibly missing the deadlines and having to file the belated returns.
Filing Numbers Lag Behind Last Year
So far till September 11, some 5.47 crore ITRs have been filed this year. Although that is a huge number, it still ranks lesser than those filed until July 31last year, which were 7.28 crore. The slowing pace is being put to further pressure, especially since some forms and services are below par due to the system being overloaded.
Taxpayers May Face Portal Issues
The TRACES portal is said to be down since September 11. This downtime has prevented accessing Form 26AS, TDS Certificates, and verifying tax credits. Meanwhile, difficulty is also being faced in importing annual information uploads — AIS and TIS. There is a lot of frustration being expressed by professionals and taxpayers, as these documents are key to doing accurate ITRs.
Penalties For Late Filing
Missed deadlines have consequences. Returns filed after September 15 will be treated as belated and, thus, penalties will be imposed on them under the tax laws. Tax consultants like Deepak Jain are now getting calls from clients who panic about what would happen if time goes by.
Pushing For The Extension Of The Deadline
Professional bodies, tax experts, and associations like Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association (KSCAA), Advocates Bar Association (ATBA), and ICAI’s Central India Regional Council (CIRC) are urging the Finance Minister to extend the deadline. Their pleas are for more time for non-audit returns (with some even proposing October 15) and to comply with the audit reports.
Delays In The Release Of The Forms Adding To The Trouble
A current grievance has been that most ITR forms were made available late this year. ITR-2 and ITR-3, for example, were issued only on 11 July, followed by ITR-5, ITR-6, and ITR-7 in August. Most forms, on the contrary, were available much earlier last year, that is, in April, giving taxpayers an extended window to prepare, compute, and file their returns.
What Should Taxpayers Do Now?
- Attempt to download AIS, Form 26AS, and TIS exerting to avoid traffic jams. Gather supporting documents (TDS certificates, statements) ahead of time.
- Schedule time for tax consultations if possible to avoid errors.
- Watch out for announcements from the Income Tax Department concerning delays in deadlines.
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