JOIN USNo software glitch, claims I-T Dept
Echoing his observation, the I-T department, in the backdrop of many people facing problems with the new system, is now saying it is lack of education among the public that has led to several problems that have been springing up at the CPC.
Several customers have been writing to the I-T department seeking clarity on the status of the refunds, on incorrect demand orders they have received, mismatches in figures et al. Some people have even written stating their returns for the year 2008-09 and 2009-10 have not been processed at all.
The centre was to help tax payers get faster refunds from the I-T department and the state-of-the-art facility is processing all electronic tax returns of the country and physical returns of Karnataka and Goa regions too.
Some circles, including among some senior officials in the I-T department believe that many of these problems are occurring due to a glitch in the software. Confirming such a belief, there has been nobody to represent the CPC at the special counters facility organised by the I-T department in Palace Grounds.
However, I-T officials managing the CPC said: “The errors are not due to a problem with the software but due to mistakes made by people while submitting the forms.”
Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Bangalore A L Agarwal echos that statement, assuring that there isn’t any problem with the estimated Rs 255.46 crore project (expenditure for five years).
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Agarwal said: “The software is absolute fine. It is the lack of awareness/education about the new system that is causing the problem.”
Infosys, which has developed the software for the centre said: “The company is not authorised to speak about anything in relation to this project,” adding that only the I-T department can speak on it.
Agarwal pointed out that even as there has been one prescribed form to file returns, the department has received about 25 different versions of the form. Also, there have been several instances where people have filled the wrong details in the wrong fields in the form, thereby disabling the automated system to process them accurately.
He further said that the department is trying to educate the people more with advertisement and other methods so that the process of filing returns, getting refunds and other problems gets smoother in the coming days.
DH News Service