Fix tax portal glitches by September 15, finance minister Sitharaman tells Infosys – Times of India
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NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked Infosys, the technology vendor for the faulty income tax portal, to fix all glitches by September 15, while conveying the “deep disappointment and concerns” of the government and taxpayers over the company’s failure to fix the problems even two and a half months after the platform was launched.
During her meeting with Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, Sitharaman made her displeasure known, with the company brass now realising how seriously the Centre was taking the issue, a source told TOI. The sense in the government is that Infosys was moving to remove the snags at a very slow pace, something it had done with GST Network as well where it managed to extract time from the government.
At that time, Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani had been asked to explain the issues at a meeting of the GST Council, the higher-powered panel comprising state and Union finance ministers.
“The message seems to have finally sunk in,” an official said as the FM on Monday sought an explanation from the IT company over repeated issues being faced by taxpayers, tax practitioners as well as officials. Separately, the company had also failed in providing a smooth transition to an upgraded MCA-21, a platform for corporate filings and database, and had been called out even them.
“The ministry of finance emphasised that there is a need for putting in more resources and efforts on the part of Infosys so that the much-delayed delivery of agreed services is ensured. Parekh was also sensitised on the difficulties that the taxpayers were facing and the problems that are arising on account of the delays in the functioning of the portal,” the finance ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Parekh had been “summoned” to the ministry after the income tax portal was shut down for maintenance. While Infosys had on Saturday said it was a planned maintenance, on Sunday, the income tax department took exception to it amid several complaints.
During her meeting with Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, Sitharaman made her displeasure known, with the company brass now realising how seriously the Centre was taking the issue, a source told TOI. The sense in the government is that Infosys was moving to remove the snags at a very slow pace, something it had done with GST Network as well where it managed to extract time from the government.
At that time, Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani had been asked to explain the issues at a meeting of the GST Council, the higher-powered panel comprising state and Union finance ministers.
“The message seems to have finally sunk in,” an official said as the FM on Monday sought an explanation from the IT company over repeated issues being faced by taxpayers, tax practitioners as well as officials. Separately, the company had also failed in providing a smooth transition to an upgraded MCA-21, a platform for corporate filings and database, and had been called out even them.
“The ministry of finance emphasised that there is a need for putting in more resources and efforts on the part of Infosys so that the much-delayed delivery of agreed services is ensured. Parekh was also sensitised on the difficulties that the taxpayers were facing and the problems that are arising on account of the delays in the functioning of the portal,” the finance ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Parekh had been “summoned” to the ministry after the income tax portal was shut down for maintenance. While Infosys had on Saturday said it was a planned maintenance, on Sunday, the income tax department took exception to it amid several complaints.
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