A/Cs Not Validated error has implications further - ITR Utility - Income Tax

Dear All,

As some of you may be aware and some also raised queries on this forum, in the ITR offline utility as it fetches data from portal, under Bank A/C section, it shows all A/Cs as Not Validated even though you may have some A/Cs validated on the portal. You select one or two for Refund credit in the utility.

This error (It shows that no A/C is validated at all) has some implications in the final stage. Proceed to last stage in the utility and on last page even though it shows tick marks against the same A/Cs for refund credit, just download the PDF and you find that since no A/C is validated (As per the erroneous data) in the PDF the tick marks are removed.

Now it's unclear what final data it will take on final submission?

I have a humble request to the CAs on this forum. How do I formally write a letter signed by me listing all errors that I have seen on new portal and in the utility to Income Tax Department? To whom I send this letter?

I need a legal record that I sent the concerns thru a documented Register AD or EMS Post. Online grievance does not work. I see that my submissions are missing next day! I am a software developer by profession and I have found critical issues with portal and utility.

The initial stage of frustration is over and now I am more concerned how the whole thing of filing my return is going to turn out now!

Thanks and regards.

Here’s a draft letter you can use to formally report the “A/Cs Not Validated” error and other issues you’ve encountered with the Income Tax Department portal and ITR utility. You can send this by Registered AD or EMS post to create a legal record of your communication.

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, PIN Code]
[Email Address]
[Date]

To,
The Income Tax Officer,
Centralized Processing Centre (CPC),
Income Tax Department,
[Address of CPC or Jurisdictional Income Tax Office]

Subject: Reporting Errors and Issues in Income Tax E-filing Portal and ITR Utility — “Bank A/Cs Not Validated” and Others

Respected Sir/Madam,

I, [Your Full Name], PAN: [Your PAN Number], hereby wish to bring to your kind attention certain critical issues and discrepancies that I have encountered while filing my Income Tax Return for Assessment Year [AY Year] through the Income Tax Department’s e-filing portal and the offline ITR utility.

Bank Account Validation Error:
While fetching data from the portal into the offline utility, under the Bank Account section, all bank accounts show as “Not Validated” despite some accounts being validated on the portal itself. This results in the absence of tick marks for refund credit in the final PDF generated by the utility, causing uncertainty about the actual data that will be submitted and processed by the department.
Data Discrepancies:
Despite selecting certain bank accounts for refund credit, the offline utility PDF removes these selections due to the above validation issue. It is unclear if the validated bank account details will be considered during the final submission on the portal.
Portal & Utility Instability:
I have noticed other critical issues during the filing process that affect data integrity and may impact the accurate filing of returns. Attempts to raise these concerns via the online grievance mechanism have not yielded satisfactory confirmation or resolution.

In view of the above, I kindly request your department to:

Acknowledge receipt of this letter as a formal communication of the issues faced.
Investigate and resolve the Bank Account validation error on both the portal and the offline utility.
Provide clear guidance or a solution to ensure that validated bank accounts are correctly reflected in the final submission, thereby ensuring smooth refund processing.
Confirm that the data submitted through the offline utility and online portal will be treated accurately despite the above errors.

I am sending this letter via Registered Post to create a legal record of my concerns. I hope the department will take prompt action to resolve these issues for the benefit of taxpayers.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours faithfully,
[Your Signature]
[Your Full Name]
[Your Contact Number]
[Your PAN Number]

Where to send this:

CPC Bangalore address (for most returns):
Centralized Processing Centre,
Income Tax Department,
Bengaluru – 560500, Karnataka, India.
Or send to the jurisdictional Assessing Officer’s address if you know it.