E-filing portal not available from Feb 3 to Feb 5 due to website maintenance: Income Tax dept

The Income Tax department has noted that its services for taxpayers on the e-filing portal will not be available between February 3 and early February 5 on account of scheduled maintenance. The department also asked taxpayers to plan their activities accordingly.

“…taxpayer services on the e-filing portal will be restricted from 2 pm on Saturday (03.02.24) to 6 am on Monday (05.02.24) due to scheduled maintenance activity, involving technical upgradation of the system,” the I-T department said in a post on X.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while reading the Interim Budget statement on Thursday, said that the introduction of new Form 26AS and pre-filling tax returns have made the process of filing tax returns simpler and easier. She said the average processing time of returns has been reduced from 93 days in 2013-14 to just 10 days this year.

The remarkable reduction in the processing time for income tax returns demonstrates the beneficial impact of technological innovation. These advancements not only streamline administrative procedures but also boost efficiency, ultimately enhancing the overall customer experience.

Interim Budget: What did FM Sitharaman say on income tax rates?

FM Sitharaman said: "Under the new tax scheme, there is now no tax liability for taxpayers with income up to Rs 7 lakh, up from Rs 2.2 lakh in the financial year 2013-14."

However, she added that there were no tax proposals for direct as well as indirect taxes.

"As for tax proposals, in keeping with the convention, I do not propose to make any changes relating to taxation and propose to retain the same tax rates for direct taxes and indirect taxes, including import duties," she said.

Sitharaman, however, added that the Centre will withdraw outstanding direct tax demands up to Rs 25,000 for the period up to financial year 2009-10 and up to Rs 10,000 for financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15. "This is expected to benefit about a crore tax-payers," she said.

"Although largely in line with the historical interim budgets, the Hon'ble FM's announcement of zero changes in direct and indirect taxes, including import duties, for the FY 2024-25 has surprised the industry. The FM has made it clear that her decision was in line with the convention of the Interim Budgets. While no big-ticket reforms about the tax rates were expected in the interim budget 2024, taxpayers widely anticipated that the government would provide tax relief through a wider deduction base under Section 80C or a separate deduction for insurance premiums. However, the FM announced the continuation of certain tax benefits for start-ups, investments made by sovereign wealth or pension funds and tax exemption on certain incomes of specific IFSC units up to 31st March 2025. Further, the FM stated that the complete and detailed roadmap of the government's pursuit of "Viksit Bharat," i.e., advancing India, will be announced in the July 2024 Budget sessions," said Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO, ClearTax.

Ranen Banerjee, partner and leader economic advisory, PwC India, added, "There has been no change on the taxation front, and we will have to wait for the full budget for any changes, with the government sticking to the norm of not making major announcements in an interim budget."   

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