Will Centre extend ITR deadline amid portal glitches?

New Delhi: The Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT) is planning to extend the deadline for ITR filing amid technical glitches on the new income tax (I-T) portal that continue to haunt the taxpayers. Income tax return (ITR) filing is one of the crucial financial tasks every year and the last day to file ITR is generally July 31.

The deadline for ITR filing current financial year has been extended to September 30, keeping the Covid situation in view. However, technical glitches marred the functioning of the Infosys-developed income tax portal www.incometax.gov.in since its launch on June 7.

On August 23, the Union Finance Ministry had "summoned" Infosys CEO Salil Parekh to explain the issue. FM Nirmala expressed "deep disappointment" over persisting glitches and gave him time till September 15 to resolve all issues.

Meanwhile, the tax department has said it has issued over 67,400 crore worth of refunds in five months of the current fiscal. "CBDT issues refunds of over Rs 67,401 crore to more than 23.99 lakh taxpayers between April 1, 2021 and August 30, 2021," the I-T department tweeted.