Infosys on Saturday said it will roll-out new functions on India’s income tax e-filing portal and that it has addressed the series of technical glitches that has impacted performance and stability of the site, which has stoked sustained uproar from tax payers in recent weeks.
Addressing a barrage of questions from shareholders on the issue which had also prompted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to weigh in earlier this month Infosys chief operating officer U B Pravin Rao said the company has seen over one lakh daily unique visitors on the tax portal and has processed over one lakh returns on the platform, so far.
He was speaking at the 40th Annual General Meeting of the company on Saturday which was held virtually. The Finance Ministry has scheduled a meeting with the company on June 22 to discuss the issues plaguing the portal.
In his address, Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani underlined the software services giant’s preparedness for what he termed as another year of “market-leading performance” despite uncertainties that the Covid-19 pandemic has thrown up in 2021.
Nilekani said Infosys had industry-leading, healthy revenue growth at 5% in constant currency, totalling $ 13.6 billion in 2020-21. Its large transformation deals peaked to an all-time high of $ 14.1 billion, with 66 % being net new.
“Infosys is well positioned for another year of market leading performance in a post-pandemic, cloud-first, distinctly digital era,” he said. The company is ramping up hiring to cater to the surge in market demand, it is onboarding 19,230 graduates in India and 1,941 graduates and associate degree holders outside the country. Further, the company said it is doubling its Canadian workforce to 4,000 employees by 2023.
“The resilience we have displayed and the brand strength that we have accrued clearly shows how well-placed we are to thrive and to help our clients thrive in challenging but exciting digital-first markets…we will seize the moment to build on this head start to expand our market share further as we serve global enterprises in their digital acceleration journey,” Nilekani told shareholders.
CEO Salil Parekh said the company is well positioned to meet its April forecast of 12-14% growth in the fiscal year 2022
“The position of the company is extremely strong in achieving that guidance,” said Parekh, adding that “as long as we continue to work with our clients, and make sure that we are doing things in these new areas (in digital and cloud) of what they are looking for, we will continue to deliver on that guidance.”
Glitches draw ire
Infosys won the Rs 4,242 crore order to develop the next-generation income tax filing portal and centralised processing centre 2.0 in 2019. The site, expected to bring down the time taken to process IT returns from 63 days to a single day and expedite returns, was launched on June 7 but has been beset by a multitude of glitches.
Expressing the company’s regret over the initial inconvenience faced by taxpayers while navigating the tax filing portal, COO Rao assured shareholders it was working hard to resolve all issues at the earliest.
He was responding to a multitude of queries on the issue that has seen taxpayers take to social media, starting from the launch of the new portal on June 7, to air their grievances.
It had also led to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tagging Chairman Nilekani to nudge the company to address the issues in the portal.
“I see in my timeline (TL) grievances and glitches. Hope @Infosys & @NandanNilekani will not let down our taxpayers in the quality of service being provided,” Sitharaman had Tweeted on June 8, just hours after the portal had gone live.
“We look forward to working closely with all stakeholders for the next few weeks to ensure that all inputs and feedback are being reviewed and addressed towards the objective of delivering enhanced functionality,” Rao said.
Also Read: ITR Filing: Step-by-step guide to file your income tax returns without Form 16
Source: economictimes.com
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