The clock was ticking on September 15, the final day for millions of Indian taxpayers to file their Income Tax Returns for the Assessment Year 2025-26. Yet, a large portion of the populace was not engaged in the frantic last-minute rush, but rather in a chorus of frustration on social media, lambasting the Income Tax Department’s e-filing portal for being sluggish, glitch-ridden, and in some cases, completely inaccessible. The outrage, amplified by the impassioned pleas of MPs and major professional associations, echoed a single, clear demand: extend the deadline.
Also read: Justdial Sees Surge in Income Tax Searches on Tax Day
For days leading up to the final date, the Income Tax Department, through its official X handle, had adopted a stance of almost willful ignorance. In a series of posts that felt increasingly detached from reality, it consistently maintained that its systems were working fine. Advisories were issued, not to acknowledge the technical issues, but to tell taxpayers to clear their browser caches, use different browsers, or disable extensions. These suggestions, which seemingly assumed that the year is 2005 and not 2025, were met with a fresh wave of mockery and exasperation as taxpayers continued to face the same problems.
The department’s public narrative was one of a smoothly functioning digital ecosystem, a direct contradiction to the real-time experience of countless users who saw error messages, slow loading times, and failed submissions. Some even compiled a list of the most common errors. This “head-in-the-sand” approach only deepened the public’s distrust and anger. The question on everyone’s mind was simple: if the site was working perfectly, why were so many people complaining?
The pressure mounted relentlessly. The cries of frustration from the common taxpayer were joined by the authoritative voices of chartered accountants, tax associations, and even political representatives who wrote letters to the Finance Ministry detailing the technical impediments. They cited not just the portal’s unreliability, but also other systemic issues, such as the late release of revised forms and the overwhelming compliance burden from other statutory filings. The confluence of these factors created a perfect storm of operational chaos, making a timely filing a near impossibility for many. The department’s stoic silence and insistence on a working portal felt not just tone-deaf, but also an attempt to deflect responsibility.
Then, just minutes before the midnight deadline, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) blinked. In a terse, unrepentant statement on its official handle, it announced a one-day extension, pushing the deadline from September 15 to September 16.
Previous statements thanked taxpayers and professionals for their compliance, citing a record number of filings—over 7.3 crore—but did not explicitly mention the technical glitches as the reason for the extension. Instead, it vaguely attributed the decision to a need to “facilitate further filings of ITRs.” This minimal, last-minute concession was the tacit admission that a full-blown crisis was unfolding. It was the moment the department had to finally concede that its portal was, in fact, not working as it had claimed, despite its public-facing posture.
The extension, while a relief for many, underscored the chasm between the department’s public messaging and the ground reality. The apathetic and often defensive communication strategy had backfired spectacularly, forcing a last-minute reversal that could have been handled with more transparency and foresight. The episode serves as a cautionary tale for government bodies managing critical digital infrastructure: in the age of real-time communication and social media, an organization cannot simply parrot that its systems are fine while the entire user base says otherwise.
The public’s experience will always trump an official narrative, and a strategic, responsive approach is far more effective than a stubborn, silent one. For now, taxpayers had a brief reprieve, but the incident left a lingering question about accountability and the reliability of India’s digital tax infrastructure.
