FM Sitharaman asks GSTN and Income Tax Portal to significantly improve System Capabilities

Officials said the government has requested technology suppliers for both the income tax site and the GST Network to greatly increase system capabilities in 10 years, including an efficient monitoring environment to spot evasion, in-built data analytics capabilities, and simplicity of submitting returns.

The move comes after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to work on improving the digital infrastructure of these portals in light of the increased number of future transactions during a Chintan Shivir last month.

“The Finance Minister made it clear that the refund and tax-filing system must be error-free, simple, and quick,” a senior official said.

Infosys is now the technology supplier for both the income-tax return portal and the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), which is in charge of providing technical support to the goods and services tax system.

While GSTN has declined to renew Infosys’ contract, which expires on September 30, 2024, the I-T department has already requested that the business make the required improvements to the system.

The immediate issue is to make faceless better, including creating a database for the new tax system, end-to-end automation, and an easier common income tax return form for all taxpayers, according to the source mentioned above.

“Despite heavy traffic, the income-tax portal has performed well,” the source noted.

The challenge is more difficult for the GSTN technology supplier since the government is preparing to introduce GST 2.0, which will focus on automated returns similar to Income Tax 26A, end-to-end synchronisation with the I-T portal for data sharing, and a streamlined mechanism for collecting refunds and credits.

GSTN will conduct an open bidding process to pick a technology provider to manage the site for seven years beginning October 1, 2024, according to authorities.