IT Dept. To Refund The Late Fee Paid While Filing ITR FY21 Due To Software Error

In light of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the deadline for submitting ITR for FY2020-21 (AY2021-22) from July 31, 2021 to September 30, 2021. Unfortunately, several taxpayers have claimed that they were levied interest and a late fee for filing their income tax return (ITR) beyond July 31, 2021. The Income Tax Department has announced that it will refund additional interest and late fees paid by taxpayers as a result of a software issue while submitting ITRs for 2020-21.

Regarding the same the I Department has recently informed via its Twitter handle that "The ITR software was rectified on 1st Aug 2021 itself to remove the error due to incorrect computation of interest u/s 234A and late fee u/s 234F. Taxpayers have been advised to use the latest version of the ITR preparation software or file online." The department has further added that "If, by any chance, someone has already submitted the ITR with such incorrect interest or late fee, the same will be correctly calculated while processing at CPC-ITR and the excess amount paid, if any, will be refunded in the normal course."

After the launch of new e-filing portal 2.0, the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had claimed on June 8, 2021 that "The much awaited e-filing portal 2.0 was launched last night 20:45hrs. I see in my TL grievances and glitches. Hope @Infosys & @NandanNilekani will not let down our taxpayers in the quality of service being provided. Ease in compliance for the taxpayer should be our priority."