The Income Tax Department’s e-filing portal reportedly suffered a major technical outage on Friday afternoon, leaving taxpayers, chartered accountants (CAs), and tax advocates unable to upload Income Tax Returns (ITRs). The prolonged disruption has triggered widespread concern, with the July 31 deadline for filing ITRs in Forms 1 and 2 fast approaching.
According to chartered accountants and tax practitioners, the portal became inaccessible in the morning and remained largely non-functional for most of the day. As a result, thousands of taxpayers across the country were unable to file their returns or complete other compliance-related tasks.
Tax professionals said the e-filing website had been experiencing intermittent technical glitches over the past 10 days. Although earlier disruptions were typically resolved within a short time, Friday’s outage was significantly more severe, with the portal remaining inaccessible for several hours.
The disruption has affected professionals during one of the busiest periods of the tax filing season. CAs warned that if the technical issues persist, many taxpayers may fail to meet the July 31 deadline despite making every effort to comply with their tax obligations.
Users reported a range of issues, including error messages, failed login attempts, and an inability to upload completed returns. The outage also disrupted return verification and submission processes, causing inconvenience to both individual taxpayers and professionals managing multiple filings.
Chartered accountants have urged the Union Finance Ministry and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to intervene immediately and restore the portal’s normal functioning. They have also requested the government to consider extending the ITR filing deadline if the technical problems continue, arguing that taxpayers should not be penalized for circumstances beyond their control.
Tax professionals emphasized that a stable and reliable e-filing system is critical during the peak filing season to ensure smooth compliance and prevent unnecessary hardship for taxpayers.
As of Friday evening, the technical issue had reportedly not been fully resolved, with many users continuing to face difficulties accessing the Income Tax Department’s e-filing portal.
