The Karnataka Taxpayers Association (R), Shivamogga, has approached the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) seeking urgent intervention over technical difficulties reportedly being faced by taxpayers and tax professionals while accessing the Income Tax Department’s e-Filing Portal, as an important Income Tax Return (ITR) filing deadline draws closer.

In a representation dated August 27, 2026, addressed to the Chairman of the CBDT, the Association flagged recurring login-related difficulties and other technical problems which, it said, were creating hurdles for taxpayers attempting to complete their statutory income-tax compliances.

According to the Association, users have encountered instances where the e-Filing Portal repeatedly rejects what they say are correct login credentials. Significantly, the representation stated that the same credentials have, in some cases, been accepted after several attempts, raising concerns that the difficulty may be technical rather than attributable to incorrect user details.

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The Association further claimed that the problems were not confined to a single device or taxpayer account and had been experienced across different devices and accounts. Such difficulties, it said, were causing considerable inconvenience and anxiety among taxpayers and professionals at a time when compliance activity was intensifying ahead of the filing deadline.

Tax Professionals Under Deadline Pressure

Drawing attention to the practical impact of the reported glitches, the Association said tax professionals were already working under significant pressure to complete returns and related compliances within the statutory timeline.

Any disruption in accessing the portal during the final days before a deadline could affect their ability to complete filings even where taxpayers and professionals are otherwise ready to comply, it pointed out.

The Association stressed that genuine taxpayers should not be placed in a position where technical problems with the government’s electronic filing infrastructure prevent them from satisfying statutory obligations within the prescribed period.

With income-tax compliance now substantially dependent on digital infrastructure, uninterrupted access to essential services such as taxpayer login, return preparation and submission, tax payment and related e-Filing functions becomes particularly important during periods of peak filing activity.

Association Seeks Immediate CBDT Intervention

The taxpayers’ body has urged the CBDT and the technical authorities concerned to immediately examine the reported problems and take corrective measures.

It has sought an investigation into the login difficulties and other portal-related issues and requested that the authorities ensure stable and uninterrupted functioning of the Income Tax e-Filing Portal during the crucial filing period.

Importantly, the Association has also sought appropriate relief for taxpayers if the technical difficulties continue up to the filing due date.

The request assumes significance because a taxpayer who is otherwise prepared to file a return may face consequences for delayed compliance where access to the statutory electronic system itself becomes unavailable or unreliable.

August 31 Deadline Adds Urgency

The representation has been made just days before the August 31, 2026 ITR filing due date applicable to relevant taxpayers with business or professional income who are not required to get their accounts audited, adding urgency to the concerns raised by the Association.

The approaching deadline ordinarily results in increased traffic on the e-Filing Portal as taxpayers, chartered accountants, tax practitioners and other professionals simultaneously undertake return filing and associated compliance activities.

Consequently, portal availability, server capacity and reliable access become especially important during the closing days of the filing window.

Taxpayers and Professionals Flag Problems Online

Concerns regarding the performance of the Income Tax e-Filing Portal have also surfaced on social media during the current filing season.

At different points, taxpayers and tax professionals have reported problems ranging from difficulties in logging into accounts and slow portal response to interruptions during return filing and difficulties while completing tax-payment-related processes.

Some tax professionals have called upon the Income Tax Department to maintain adequate technical capacity to deal with high concurrent traffic during peak filing periods. There have also been calls for extension or other appropriate relief where persistent portal problems materially interfere with taxpayers’ ability to complete statutory compliance before the deadline.

The Government has previously acknowledged that taxpayers can encounter transient technical difficulties during periods involving high concurrent load and has referred to measures undertaken to strengthen and monitor the e-Filing platform.

Individual Complaints Do Not Necessarily Establish Portal-Wide Outage

At the same time, reports of individual difficulties need to be viewed carefully. The portal’s performance has not necessarily been uniformly problematic for every taxpayer throughout the filing season, and isolated complaints cannot, by themselves, establish the existence of a system-wide outage.

Login difficulties can also arise from user-specific or device-specific factors. The significance of the Karnataka Taxpayers Association’s representation, however, lies in its claim that similar problems have been experienced across multiple devices and taxpayer accounts.

Where comparable complaints emerge from a number of taxpayers and professionals close to a statutory deadline, prompt verification by the Income Tax Department becomes important to determine whether the problem is isolated or reflects a broader technical issue.

Clear and timely official communication regarding portal availability, known technical problems and remedial measures can also help taxpayers distinguish between account-specific difficulties and wider system disruptions.

Uninterrupted Portal Access Crucial for Statutory Compliance

The issue highlights the growing importance of reliable digital infrastructure in a tax administration where a large part of taxpayer compliance is conducted electronically.

For taxpayers approaching a statutory deadline, the ability to log in is only the first step. They may also need uninterrupted access to upload and verify returns, make tax payments, access tax information and complete other connected procedures before a filing can be successfully concluded.

A technical disruption at any critical stage could potentially delay completion of the entire process.

The Karnataka Taxpayers Association has therefore called upon the CBDT and the authorities managing the e-Filing system to ensure that taxpayers and professionals are able to access the portal without interruption during the remaining filing period.

The representation also brings the question of taxpayer relief into focus. If verified technical failures of substantial scale or duration continue close to the statutory deadline and materially prevent taxpayers from completing compliance, the authorities may face calls to consider suitable measures so that taxpayers are not prejudiced by circumstances relating to the functioning of the government portal.

For now, the Association has sought immediate technical resolution and uninterrupted functioning of the e-Filing Portal, while requesting appropriate relief should the reported problems persist until the due date.

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