New Delhi (PTI): The Income Tax Department on Monday said more than 7 crore I-T returns have been filed till evening on Monday as the filing deadline closes in, amid netizens complaining of glitches in the I-T department portal for e-filing and advance tax payment.
The e-filing portal faced a huge traffic on Monday which is the last date for filing ITRs for AY 2025-26. Also, Monday is the last date for payment of the second quarterly instalment of advance tax for the ongoing fiscal year.
Late on Monday evening, the income tax department shared a guide on resolving browser issues for ITR filers. These steps usually resolve most local access-related difficulties, the department said.
"Having difficulty accessing the Income Tax e-Filing Portal? Sometimes, access difficulties with the Income Tax e-Filing Portal may arise due to local system/browser settings. These simple steps often help resolve such issues," it said in a post on X.
However, ITR filers continued to face glitches even after following these steps.
"More than 7 crore ITRs have been filed so far and still counting (15th September)," the department had said in a X post in the evening, and urged all those who haven't filed ITR for AY 2025-26, to file their returns.
The last date to file ITRs without penalty is September 15 for income earned in 2024-25 fiscal. Last year, 7.28 crore ITRs were filed till July 31 due date. A number of chartered accountants and individuals have taken to social media over the past couple of days claiming that the I-T portal is facing glitches while making tax payment and downloading AIS (Annual Information Statement).
On Monday, netizens even complained that they were unable to log in to the e-fling portal. Some also complained of inability to pay advance tax for the July- September quarter.
In a post on X on September 14, the department had termed "fake" a statement of extension of deadline, and asked taxpayers to only rely on official updates on @IncomeTaxIndia.
"The due date for filing ITRs remains 15.09.2025," it said.
Replying to a post which claimed that there were issues in uploading ITR and tax payment, the department earlier in the day had said, "The e-filing portal is working fine. Please clear your browser cache or try accessing the portal through a different browser". It also asked people to share their details (along with PAN and mobile number) to e-mail id orm@cpc.incometax.gov.in.
On September 14, the I-T department had replied to users claiming issues with downloading AIS/TIS saying: "The AIS/TIS facility is functioning without any issues. May we request you to please try accessing it again. In case you continue to face difficulties, please share your details (along with your mobile number & public IP address) with us at cmcpc_support@insight.gov.in."
The department had in May announced an extension of the due date for filing ITRs for Assessment Year (AY) 2025-26 (for income earned in financial year 2024-25) by individuals, HUFs and entities who do not have to get their accounts audited from July 31 to September 15.
The extension was on account of "structural and content revisions" in the income tax return (ITR) forms, which was notified in late April and early May. The changes made in the ITR form for AY 2025-26 also need modifications to be made in ITR filing utilities and the back-end system.
ITR filings have shown consistent growth over the years, reflecting rising compliance and widening of the tax base. For AY 2024-25, a record 7.28 crore ITRs were filed up to July 31, 2024, compared to 6.77 crore for AY 2023-24, registering a 7.5 per cent year-on-year growth.
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Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump and other top White House officials were evacuated unharmed from the annual dinner of White House correspondents after a man armed with multiple weapons fired shots outside the ballroom of the hotel.
The incident took place at around 8:34 PM local time when dinner was served. At that time, Trump was seen having a conversation with Weijia Jiang, the President of the White House Correspondents' Association, and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to present a show at the marquee event at the Washington Hilton here.
Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.
Several guests at the dinner, including leaders across the political spectrum, journalists and other invitees, ducked under the table, apparently as a reflex reaction.
Putting up a brave face, President Trump later announced on Truth Social that the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom is all that I heard, and many guests ducked under the table,” a C-SPAN reporter at the dinner said.
Hours later, Trump addressed a press conference at the White House and announced that the security personnel had captured one person who hails from California.
“I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. I've heard that many times. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He (the attacker) hadn't reached the area at all. They really got him,” Trump told reporters, recalling the incident.
Trump said one security officer was shot at but saved as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Several protestors had lined up on the road outside the hotel, raising slogans against the Trump administration and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A CNN reporter who was outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton said he saw a gunman opening fire just a few feet away. He was among the dozens of attendees who took cover as law enforcement swarmed the venue.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California.
Asked how Saturday’s incident impacts him as the US president, Trump told reporters he is in a dangerous job but that he is no “basket case.”
“I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled,” Trump said.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
“I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives...everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd,” he said.
“We had some great work done by law enforcement, but in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
