Government summons Infosys CEO over glitches in I-T e-filing portal
What's the story
The Finance Ministry has summoned Infosys MD and CEO, Salil Parekh, over the failure of the company to address issues pertaining to the glitches in the new Income Tax e-filing portal. Parekh will be appearing before Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday to explain why the glitches on the portal have not been resolved even over two months after it was launched.
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What did the I-T department say?
In a tweet, the Income Tax department said, "Ministry of Finance has summoned Salil Parekh, MD & CEO of Infosys on 23/08/2021 to explain to hon'ble FM as to why even after 2.5 months since launch of new e-filing portal, glitches in the portal have not been resolved." "In fact, since 21/08/2021 the portal itself is not available," it added.
Complaints
FM receiving complaints since portal's launch
The new Income Tax portal was launched on June 7 to enhance the taxpayers' experience by reducing the processing time for returns from 63 days to one day and expedite refunds. However, Sitharaman said her Twitter timeline has been flooded with complaints of glitches in the portal since its launch. She had then urged Infosys to resolve these issues.
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What has Sitharaman said?
Last week, Sitharaman had said, "The glitches on the new site are expected to be fixed entirely in the next two-three weeks." She added, "I have been reminding Infosys constantly and Nandan Nilekani is giving me assurances that they will sort it out."
Infosys
Infosys ensured glitches would be removed
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani has ensured that the issues will be resolved soon. Nilekani had earlier tweeted, "The new e-filing portal will ease the filing process and enhance end user experience. Nirmala Sitharaman ji, we have observed some technical issues on day one, and are working to resolve them. Infosys regrets these initial glitches and expects the system to stabilise during the week."
Background
Government paid Rs. 164 crore to Infosys to develop portal
Notably, Infosys was awarded the contract to develop the next-generation income tax filing portal in 2019. Between 2019 to June 2021, the government has paid Infosys Rs. 164.5 crore for developing the portal. In the past, Sitharaman has stressed the need for ease in compliance for the taxpayer. She has expressed faith in Infosys to resolve the matter at the earliest.