When the Portal Crashes, So Does Taxpayers’ Patience
It all began with a phone call. One evening, I picked up the phone to hear the voice of a senior tax professional from Akola. He was furious, his voice a mix of helplessness and frustration. “Nareshji,” he thundered, “this year’s filing season has been nothing short of torture! AIS/TIS not downloading, 26AS vanishing, challans bouncing like rubber balls-what kind of system is this? We professionals feel like clowns in a circus nobody paid to watch!” That call set the tone for the week. And honestly, he wasn’t exaggerating. This year’s income tax filing felt less like a compliance exercise and more like a Bollywood blockbuster—full of drama, suspense, and more plot twists than a thriller. The villain wasn’t a corrupt businessman or a crooked officer—it was a blinking cursor on a stubborn portal.
The Portal Problems Parade:
Let me catalogue the misadventures before we lose track:
1. AIS/TIS vanishing act:
Taxpayers waiting to download their Annual Information Statement (AIS) or Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) were greeted by the eternal spinning wheel. It was as if the files were being couriered from Mars.
2. 26AS blackout:
The holy grail of reconciliation-Form 26AS-went missing. Even the Department seemed unsure of how much tax had been deducted. Taxpayers were left wondering: Should I rely on memory, astrology, or divine intervention?
3. Challan upload chaos:
Picture this: you pay tax diligently, your bank debits the amount, but the portal plays magician-poof!-your money vanishes and then reappears. Many thought they had received instant refunds before realizing it was just a cruel joke.
4. Return upload hurdles:
For some, the return just refused to upload. For others, it was uploaded only after repeated attempts-like a stubborn child completing homework after endless scolding.
CBDT’s One-Day Kindness:
And after weeks of this chaos, what was the grand relief? The CBDT, in its infinite wisdom, extended the filing due date-by exactly one day. Yes, one whole day (ignoring the 3 hours of midnight maintenance time taken away)!
It was like throwing a single biscuit into a pack of hungry dogs and expecting peace or like giving an umbrella after a flood. Taxpayers and professionals, who had been surviving on midnight oil, felt mocked. Why not extend it by a week? Why announce it at the last possible minute? The taxpayers weren’t demanding a tax holiday in Hawaii-just a reasonable extension. Instead, they were tossed a 21-hour lifeline at the very moment they were drowning.
The Real Culprit: Late Utility Release:
Let’s be fair. Not all blame lies with the portal’s mood swings. One key culprit was the late release of the utility itself. Why late? Because in July 2024, the government introduced an unthought-of amendment to capital gains tax rates, effective from the arbitrary cutoff date of 23rd July 2024. In effect, the utility had to give effect to this amendment too. But here’s the issue: a law, no matter how noble, must pass the test of practical ease in compliance. If the car cannot give a smooth ride or makes driving a painful experience, why invite passengers for a journey? Yet, taxpayers were not only invited, they were asked to push the stalled vehicle uphill.
The Helplessness of the Taxpayer:
During those frantic days, my phone kept buzzing. Taxpayers and professionals weren’t asking me about deductions or exemptions-they were asking for moral support. The refrain was the same: “Does the government even care for taxpayers?”
And that, really, is the heart of the matter. The CBDT is not just a revenue collection agency; it is a taxpayer service organization too. A happy taxpayer pays happily. A frustrated taxpayer complies grudgingly. A cheated taxpayer searches for loopholes.
When Happiness Turns to Frustration:
We recently saw Operation Sindoor, which gave taxpayers pride that their money was used for national security. At that moment, taxpayers felt like true partners in nation-building. But when the same system can’t provide ease in filing, pride turns into irritation, and irritation into mistrust. And one can’t help but ask: Has anyone-be it the officers, the service provider Infosys, or others-been held accountable for this fiasco? Or will the glitches just be swept under the carpet until next year?
Tax Audit Trauma-Let’s Not Repeat the Same Mistakes:
If the ITR filing season was chaotic, the upcoming tax audit season threatens to be déjà vu. And unless lessons are learned, taxpayers and professionals may once again be forced into a circus of glitches, last-minute extensions, and sleepless nights. Here’s why an early, reasonable extension of the audit due date is not just desirable but necessary:
a) It coincides with the festival season, where businesses and individuals are already stretched.
b) The income-tax portal continues to show inefficiencies.
c) Completing audits is a time-consuming process, especially under evolving regulations and lesser time after the recent extended ITR due date of 16th
d) Multiple professional and business associations have already requested relief.
e) GST 2.0 has just been rolled out (23.09.2025), adding another compliance burden.
f) For trusts, the 5-year renewal period is expiring on 30.09.2025, further adding to the pile.
In short, what taxpayers need is clarity and breathing space well in advance, not another last-minute “21-hour lifeline.”
Suggestions with a Practical Approach:
Instead of only venting, here are some constructive ideas:
1. Progressive penalty system:
Why penalize a one-day late filer the same as a chronic defaulter? A graded penalty makes sense: a gentle nudge for a week’s delay, a stern warning for a month, and only then stiff penalties like denial of loss carry-forward or higher late fees.
2. Staggered filing windows:
Why must everyone file in the same few days? Allocate different windows-salaried taxpayers one set, business taxpayers another, senior citizens yet another. Like boarding an aircraft row by row, it would avoid traffic jams.
3. Dry runs for utilities:
Before releasing the official version, publish a beta. Let professionals test, break, and suggest fixes. It’s better to face small storms early than a hurricane at the deadline.
4. Taxpayer happiness Index:
If Bhutan measures Gross National Happiness, why can’t India measure Taxpayer Happiness? Imagine a “Portal Smile Meter” that tracks whether taxpayers are satisfied.
5. Accountability of service providers:
Taxpayers get penalized for missing deadlines-why not Infosys or any officer when portals collapse? Public accountability will bring real improvements.
All Stakeholders in the Same Boat:
To be clear, this is not an attack on the Government alone. Everyone suffers when things go wrong:
• Taxpayers feel cheated despite honest attempts.
• Tax professionals lose sleep, health, and sometimes clients.
• Tax officers deal with mismatched data and frustrated citizens.
• The Government faces reputational damage and delayed revenue.
The problem is collective, and so must be the solution.
A Final Thought:
The Government should collect taxes in the same way the bee collects honey from the flower-softly, without destroying the bloom.
At the end of the day, the happiest country is not the one with the highest tax collections, but the one where taxpayers feel respected and supported.
Technology is supposed to make life easier, not harder. The Income Tax portal should be a smooth bridge between citizens and government-not a battlefield of bugs, reversals, and crashes. Until then, September will be less about tax planning and more about stress planning. And taxpayers will keep wondering: has the gentle honey-collecting bee of taxation quietly turned into a wasp?
[Views expressed are the personal view of the author. Readers are advised to seek professional advice before taking any decisions. Feedback & queries: nareshjakhotia@gmail.com. More articles & query responses –www.theTAXtalk.com]
