The Income Tax Department has announced a significant achievement: over 7 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have been successfully filed as the final deadline of September 15th for the Financial Year 2024-25 (Assessment Year 2025-26) rapidly approaches. This impressive volume of filings, however, is overshadowed by widespread complaints from taxpayers experiencing persistent glitches on the e-filing portal and vocally demanding an extension to the due date.
The e-filing portal has been experiencing unusually high traffic, which has exacerbated technical difficulties as the deadline draws near. Despite numerous appeals from individuals and professional organizations, the department has clearly indicated that there will be no extension for ITR filings for individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), and those not subject to account audits.
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), the department shared the update: "More than 7 crore ITRs have been filed so far and still counting." It strongly encouraged all taxpayers who have yet to submit their returns for AY 2025-26 to do so without delay, reiterating that September 15th remains the absolute last date to file without incurring penalties.
This year’s filing scenario mirrors previous trends; for the Assessment Year 2024-25, a record 7.28 crore ITRs were filed by the July 31st due date, marking a 7.5% year-on-year growth. This consistent increase underscores both rising tax compliance and a broadening tax base across the country.
Over the past few days, many chartered accountants and individual taxpayers have taken to social media to express their severe frustration. They report issues with everything from processing tax payments to downloading essential documents like the Annual Information Statement (AIS). On the deadline day itself, numerous netizens found themselves completely unable to even log in to the e-filing portal.
In response to the growing clamor, the Income Tax Department made a late-night announcement on September 14th, dismissing any rumors about a deadline extension as "fake." Taxpayers were advised to strictly rely only on official updates shared via @IncomeTaxIndia.
Earlier in the day, when confronted with reports of problems uploading ITRs and making tax payments, the department suggested, "The e-filing portal is working fine. Please clear your browser cache or try accessing the portal through a different browser." They also provided an email address (orm@cpc.incometax.gov.in) for users to submit their details, including PAN and mobile number, for further assistance.
Similarly, for issues related to downloading AIS/TIS, the I-T department urged users to try accessing the facility again, assuring them of its functionality, and directed them to another email (cmcpc_support@insight.gov.in) with their mobile number and public IP address if difficulties persisted.
It’s important to recall that the department had previously extended the ITR filing deadline for AY 2025-26 from July 31st to September 15th. This initial extension was granted due to "structural and content revisions" in the income tax return forms, which were notified in late April and early May. These changes necessitated modifications to the ITR filing utilities and the backend system, leading to the delay.