Will tax audit deadline be extended again due to glitches in the e-filing ITR portal?

Will the government extend the October 7 tax audit, TDS payment deadlines due to glitches on the e-filing ITR portal?

The deadline for specified TDS payments and submitting the tax audit report is today i.e. October 7, 2024, and the Income Tax e-filing portal has been experiencing glitches since 11 AM in the morning, according to several chartered accountants. Today is the extended due date to submit the tax audit report and the due date to make specified tax deducted at source (TDS) payments for the month of September.

#sr_widget.onDemand p, #stock_pro.onDemand p{font-size: 14px;line-height: 1.28;} .onDemand .live_stock{left:17px;padding:1px 3px 1px 5px;font-size:12px;font-weight:600;line-height:18px;top:9px} #sr_widget.onDemand .sr_desc{margin:0 auto 0;} #sr_widget.onDemand .sr_desc{color: #024d99;margin-top:10px;} #sr_widget.onDemand .crypto .live_stock .lb-icon{8px 6px 5px 3px !important} #sr_widget.crypto.onDemand a.text{border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;padding-bottom:5px;display:block;width:100%} #sr_widget.onDemand .sr_desc .text p, #stock_pro.onDemand .sr_desc .text p{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;} According to the Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association, “Due to a technical issue on the Income Tax e-filing portal, taxpayers are facing difficulties in remitting Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) for the month of September the due date for which is today - 07-Oct-2024.”

What is the impact of these glitches on the tax filing e-portal?

Chartered accountant Deepak Chopra, chairman, Direct Tax Committee, Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association (KSCAA), expressed concern over the technical issues affecting the Income Tax e-filing portal. He said: "Throughout the day the e-pay tax feature was not working properly. Many were unable to make TDS payments today. It is unfortunate that such a disruption has occurred on a day which is a crucial deadline for remitting TDS for the month of September. While we acknowledge that technical glitches are sometimes inevitable, the timing of this issue has caused significant stress for taxpayers striving to meet their compliance obligations. Only after 9pm the portal has shown some improvement and some payments are going through. But during office hours, as many have been prevented from making payments, tax deductors may have to bear interest burden for no fault of theirs. Alternatively they will have to sit beyond office hours and try and see if the payment goes through by midnight of October 7.”

KSCAASource: Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association (KSCAA) on October 7, 2024.

KSCAA 2Source: Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association (KSCAA)
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According to Chopra both the methods for making TDS payments through the e-filing ITR portal are impacted:

E-Tax Page (without login): Taxpayers entering their TAN details on the e-tax page (https://eportal.incometax.gov.in/iec/foservices/#/e-pay-tax-prelogin/user-details) are encountering an error when trying to proceed with the OTP verification. The system redirects users to an error page, preventing payment completion.

Logged-in Payment Option: For users opting to login, a separate issue is preventing the selection of the relevant assessment year, effectively stopping the payment process.

“This problem has persisted since 11 AM, creating concern among taxpayers as today is the deadline for remitting TDS for the month of September. Delay in payments would result in interest payout of 1.5% per month,” said KSCAA to ET Wealth Online on October 7, 2024.

Tax audit report submission issues due to e-pay tax payment feature not working

Chartered accountant Hardik Kakadiya, President, Chartered Accountants Association, Surat, said that due to this glitch on the e-filing ITR portal’s e-pay tax feature, their clients are not being able to pay TDS and this is likely to lead to delay in submitting the tax audit report. Kakadiya further said: “Despite the extension of the due date for the Tax Audit Report from 30th September 2024 to 7th October 2024, the ghost of portal glitches is not going away. Technical glitches and server overloads on the last date of the recently extended due date have hampered TDS payments too, leaving assessees facing the possibility of severe consequences. The income tax department’s portal's downtime is especially critical today as the deadline coincides with September's routine payments. Certain paras of Tax Audit Report mandate reporting of non-deduction and/or non-payment of TDS which would directly lead to disallowance of 30% of expenses for non-compliance. Further, interest penalties on delayed TDS payments may also become applicable. However, the assessee is left helpless, even though he has time to comply by paying the TDS till 31st October 2024 and thereby avoiding penal consequences, the last date for reporting by Tax Auditor is 7th October 2024, which becomes the de-facto final date for paying TDS of last year, if missed out. Thus, the Tax Auditor is compelled to report the non-compliance in the form of non-payment of TDS by 7th October 2024, whereas while filing ITR before 31st October 2024, the assessee may have cleared his TDS payments, thus giving rise to gap in reporting i.e. reporting of non-payment by auditor vs. paying off and claiming full expenses as per ITR . The taxman might send tax notices in such cases. This will then entail revising the tax return. No e-Commerce website crashes even during festive seasons, but failure of IT department Portal on key dates is a worrisome issue. Portal failure at critical times is a systemic failure which undermines taxpayers' ability to meet their statutory obligations, exposing them to punitive repercussions beyond their control—an outcome that is neither fair nor justified.”

“Urgent: Ongoing glitches in the Income Tax Portal are obstructing timely filing of Tax Audit Reports, with today’s deadline looming. This could result in penalties! TDS remittance issues are also raising concerns about potential interest on delayed payments,” said KSCAA on X (formerly Twitter).

Other chartered accountants and tax practitioners have also been complaining on X (formerly Twitter) about glitches on the e-filing ITR portal today. Following are some of the tweets:













Pradip Soni

What experts are urging the government to do

Chopra says, "These recurring issues are not only frustrating for taxpayers but also lead to a substantial waste of professional working hours for tax practitioners, who are left unable to complete their work efficiently. It is imperative that the Income Tax Department invests in a more robust infrastructure to prevent such disruptions during critical periods."

Chopra further adds that, "In cases where payments are delayed due to technical glitches on the portal, it would be fair and just for the department to consider waiving any interest that may become payable. Taxpayers should not be penalised for delays caused by circumstances beyond their control. I urge the authorities to resolve the issue swiftly and provide necessary relaxations or extensions to ensure taxpayers can fulfil their obligations without facing unnecessary hardships and penalties.”
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This story originally appeared on: India Times - Author:Faqs of Insurances