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Demo of Non-Functioning Functionalities of New E-Filing Portal!!
Friends, any new discovery, invention or technological development is usually accompanied by its practical demonstration so as to acclimatise the users with its new features and functionalities.
However, our eagerly awaited new e-Filing portal of the Income Tax Department, even after 10th day of its launch, has turned out to be a classical paradox.
It’s been a full 10 days since the much-hyped launch of the new e-filing portal incometax.gov.in on 7th June at 8:45 p.m., but still the new portal is battling out with several technical glitches, with many functionalities still not working.
Replying to the concerned tweet of our honorable FM on 8th June, the Infosys (the vendor which has developed this new e-Filing Portal), has assured that the new portal will stabilize within a week’s time, but that assurance has completely fallen in face with the users still struggling to even login to their registered e-filling accounts.
Consequentially, in order to find out a solution to this unwarranted impasse, the senior Finance Ministry officials along with all the stakeholders including ICAI members, auditors, consultants and taxpayers, will hold an interactive meeting with Infosys on 22.6.2021, to discuss the issues and concerns in this new e-Filing portal.
Accordingly, the Finance Ministry has invited written representations regarding the glitches in the new e-Filing portal. So, this new e-Filing portal has turned out to be a classic paradox, necessitating the representation/demonstration of its glitches/non-functioning functionalities instead of the demonstration of its new functionalities or features, which any new technological development is usually associated with.
Ironically, this new e-filing portal in its current avatar, instead of facilitating the widely proclaimed progression to digitalisation is infact currently working in its reverse gear and is forcing reverting to manual filing, to avert non-compliance of specified deadlines, one such case in point being the relaxation given by the CBDT in e-filing of forms 15CA and 15CB for foreign remittances, in manual format to the authorised dealers till 30.6.2021.
In this Taxalogue, an honest and sincere attempt has been made to practically demonstrate the technical glitches and currently non-functioning functionalities of the new e-Filing portal, so as to warrant an immediate and much needed attention of the concerned competent authorities to make the e-Filing experience- faster, smoother and better in real sense and not just on papers.
So, let us start our journey through the practical gateways of the new e-Filing portal.
1. Slow Processing Speed:
The most significant benefit or advantage of this new e-Filing portal has been proclaimed as its ability to process the ITRs as soon as these are filed by the taxpayers and thereby reducing the existing processing time period of 63 days by CPC to 0.
On first day, infact night (8:45 p.m.) of the launch of the new portal, it was not possible to even login to one’s registered e-filing account. Though the login speed has improved in these 10 days of its launch, still a slight increase in traffic on site, makes the portal very slow with buffering and loading going on for few minutes even.
So, this slow processing speed of the new e-Filing portal is definitely a cause of concern. Currently the site is slow even when the peak return-filing season has not arrived and as such to cope up with the tremendously increased traffic during the peak filing season and more importantly to live upto its desired expectations of immediate processing of ITRs, it is quintessential to increase the speed and processing capabilities of the new e-Filing portal.
2. Superficial Mismatch of Details between Pan Database & Taxpayer’s Profile:
Immediately after login, the user is prompted to update his/her profile and a mismatch of details between PAN database and Profile of the user is displayed and in majority of the cases the said mismatch is only on account of additional information of email id and contact number in the user profile vis-à-vis the PAN database.
The hyperlink “Update in Pan database/Update in Aadhar database takes the user to the TIN NSDL PAN Application page or the Aadhar Application page.
3. Inactive e-Filing Tab for Filing ITRs for AY 2021-22
The due dates of filing ITRs for the AY 2021-22 (FY 2020-21) in non-auditable cases has been extended from 31.7.2021 to 30.9.2021 and in auditable cases (other than transfer pricing) has been extended from 31.10.2021 to 30.11.2021 and in auditable transfer pricing cases has been extended from 30.11.2021 to 31.12.2021.
However, currently the tab for filing ITR for the current AY 2021-22 is inactive and as such return filing for the AY 2021-22 is not possible presently.
As soon as AY 2021-22 is selected by the user, the next mandatory tab “Select Filing Tab”, becomes inactive, thereby making it impossible to proceed any further.
It needs to be appreciated that the ITR filing work for AY 2021-22 will gain momentum after 30.6.2021, once the TDS Returns for Q4 of FY 2020-21 are being filed and corresponding TDS credit is being reflected in Form 26AS of the taxpayers. Thus, there is an immediate and urgent need to make the ITR filing tab for AY 2021-22 also functional and operational.
4. Non-Availability of e-Proceedings Utility
The newest and the brightest feather in the digital cap of the Income Tax Department i.e. the e-Proceedings utility was operating very seamlessly and smoothly in the previous e-Filing portal. The first season of the full-fledged faceless assessments for the AY 2018-19 has been successfully carried out on the previous e-Filing portal on the e-Proceedings utility.
However, inspite of the elapse of 10 days since its launch, the e-Proceedings utility has not been made functional in the new e-Filing portal yet. So, in the absence of the e-Proceedings utility, the taxpayers are not able to see and access any of their assessment, appeal and penalty proceedings notices and replies (faceless or otherwise).
It needs to be appreciated that though the time barring completion period for regular assessments u/s 143(3A)/144B for the AY 2018-19 has been extended till 30.6.2021, still the majority of these assessments have been concluded now or are in the final stages of conclusion. In many cases, the taxpayers have received scrutiny notices u/s 142(1) or show cause notices in cases of ongoing assessments or show cause notices for levy of penalty u/s 270A of the Incometax Act in cases of concluded assessments, on or before 31.5.2021, in the previous portal.
However, due to the unavailability of the e-Proceedings utility in the new portal, the assessees are not in a position to file their corresponding replies to such notices. Therefore, the e-Proceedings utility must be made functional in a timely manner, so as to enable the assessees to file their replies to the notices in a comfortable and appropriate manner and this black-out period starting from 31.5.2021 and continuing till date should be excluded from the time barring completion deadline of 30.6.2021.
Also, the user manual of the new e-Proceedings utility shows that the maximum up-loadable file size has now been reduced to 5MB in place of the earlier size of 10MB, which will create a lot of ground-level problems for the assessees to upload their supporting attachments and records along with their replies.
It needs to be appreciated that this new e-Filing portal was expected to be equipped with increased storing and processing capabilities and so instead of increasing the size of the up-loadable file, this decrease is certainly not warranted and called for.
5. Non-Integration of Valid DINs: The new e-Filing Portal in its present avatar is not capable of importing the Document Identification Numbers (DINs) of the orders, intimations, notices or any other communications.
One such instance is the consistent ‘DIN Error’ being displayed in the Form 35 e-filing tab of the new portal.
The above Real-time windows of the new e-Filing Portal for filing Appeal Form 35 clearly show that even a valid DIN is not getting accepted by the e-Filing tab and thereby making it impossible for the assessees to proceed with filing their appeal Form 35 in respect of their assessment/re-assessment/penalty orders.
6. Non-Availability of Previous Years ITR Forms, ITR Acknowledgements and All Other Online Forms
The previous years’ ITR Forms and all other electronic Forms are currently not available for download. The ITR V Acknowledgements are being shown as downloadable but these don’t get downloaded on clicking the download link.
So, currently the taxpayer is not having any access, whatsoever, to any of his/her previously filed ITRs, Appeals or any other Forms.
7. Non-effective Tax Genie Autobot/Chatbox
The widely publicised interactive autoboot TaxGenie chatbox feature of the new e-Filing portal bombards the users with prefilled questions and answers, many of which may not be even relevant to the specific query of the user. This feature is not actually an AI enabled feature but just a better presentation of the erstwhile Help sections of the previous e-Filing portal.
8. Non Availability of Online Forms 10A & 10AB for Filing Application for Re-registration of Charitable Trusts and similar Institutions
In the new e-Filing Portal, currently Forms 10A and 10AB for filing Applications for Re-Registration of Charitable Trusts and other similar institutions are not available inspite of the fact that the due date for filing such applications is 30.6.2021.
9. Non Possibility of Revision of ITR & Other Online Forms
In the new e-Filing portal, currently it is not possible to revise any of the previously filed ITR or any other online Form, as the ‘access denied’ message makes it impossible for the assessee to revise his/her ITR or any other form.
10. Condonation Request only for ITR V
Currently, only one type of Condonation Request has been enabled in the new e-Filing portal and that is Condonation for Delay in Submission of ITR-V. No other condonation request is possible.
11. Non Availability of Outstanding Demand Details prior to AY 2020-21
Currently, the details of outstanding income tax demand prior to AY 2020-21 are not getting reflected in the new e-Filing portal and as such making it impossible for the assessees to file responses to their outstanding demands, and thereby giving a leeway for adjustment of their refunds against such demands u/s 245 of the Act.
Concluding Remarks:
The above practical demonstration with the help of real-time templates of the new e-Filing portal makes it duly evident that inspite of the much hype and hoopla concerning this new e-Filing portal, in reality, practically an assessee can’t file ITR for AY 2021-22, can’t file appeal, can’t file rectification or revision, can’t access or see previous years ITR Forms and other online Forms, and doesn’t have any access to any of the assessment, appeal and penalty proceedings, in the current version and avatar of this new e-Filing portal.
Thus the competent income tax authorities and the vendor Infosys are requested to take immediate consideration and cognizance of the above practically demonstrated technical glitches and non functioning functionalities to make the incometax e-filing experience faster, smoother and better in real sense and not just on papers.
Summing up the above heavy discussion in lighter vein…
“Cristiano Ronaldo just removes a pair of Coca Cola bottles from the UEFA Euro 2020 podium & Coca Cola loses $4 billion of it market capitalisation.
Elon Musk simply tweets & Bitcoin & Dogcoin share prices fluctuate like anything.
Infosys Share Price: 1401 on 31.5.2021 & 1495 on 17.6.2021...
Moral of the Story: One has to be either Ronaldo or Elon Musk to get the desired improvements in the new e-Filing portal. “
This Article has also been published in taxmann.com with citation (2021) 127 taxmann.com 748 (Article)
