Govt Declares I‑T Portal Stable, Infosys Penalized for Delays

The government told the Lok Sabha that the Income-Tax e-filing portal is “largely stable and efficient,” but confirmed that Infosys has been penalized for repeated delays, outages, and failure to meet service-level agreements under the Integrated e-Filing and CPC 2.0 project.

Responding in writing to an unstarred question from Shyamkumar Daulat Barve, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary shared detailed figures on portal activity recorded between July 8 and 14, 2026, alongside comparative data from the same week in 2025. 

The Income-Tax e-filing portal was originally developed and operated by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) from 2012 until October 2020. Infosys was paid Rs 164.5 crore from January 2019 to June 2021, under the Integrated e‑Filing and CPC 2.0 project, and began work after Cabinet approval that month. The new portal was launched on June 7, 2021. 

Key Updates from Lok Sabha

• Portal Stability
  The I-T portal has handled record traffic in July 2026, with filings nearly tripling compared to last year. On July 14, 2026, 1.22 million returns were filed versus 409,000 a year earlier. Logins surged to 9.88 million in a single day, up from 6.76 million in 2025.
• Infosys Penalties
  Liquidated damages for failing to deliver the project on schedule in 2020. Penalties for missing service-level agreements across 12 quarters. Fines for application outages during FY26 peak filing season. Additional penalties when filing deadlines had to be extended due to Infosys-related issues.

Context on Penalties

• Faceless Penalty Scheme
  Under Section 274A of ITA 2025, penalties are now processed digitally, ensuring consistency and reducing discretion. Penalties for under-reporting can be 50% of tax, while misreporting attracts 200% of tax.
• Judicial Relief
  ITAT Bangalore has ruled that technical glitches cannot be grounds to deny penalty immunity under Section 270AA, protecting taxpayers from systemic failures.

Risks & Implications

• For Taxpayers
  While the portal is stable, transient delays may still occur during peak load. Filing deadlines could be extended if outages recur, but penalties on taxpayers for such glitches are legally contestable.
• For Infosys
  Repeated penalties highlight government dissatisfaction with delivery timelines and reliability. This could affect Infosys’s credibility in handling large-scale government IT projects.

Takeaway

• The I-T portal is functioning reliably for most users, but expect occasional slowdowns near deadlines.
• Infosys faces financial and reputational consequences for delays, reinforcing government accountability measures.
• If you’re covering this editorially, emphasize the contrast between rising taxpayer usage and Infosys’s repeated penalties — it’s a strong narrative on resilience vs. vendor accountability.

Summary Table

Aspect	Details
Portal Stability	Record filings and logins in July 2026; system largely efficient
Infosys Penalties	Damages for delays, SLA breaches, outages, deadline extensions
Taxpayer Impact	Delays contestable; deadlines may be extended during outages
Infosys Impact	Credibility risk in government IT projects