ITR Offline JSON Utility not showing saved drafts

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Sri77

Others

58 Points Posted on 15 August 2025

Hi,

I used Offline JSON utility to fill ITR1. The draft was saved. Next day when I wanted to continue, the "Draft Version of Returns" tab is empty. I restarted the laptop and then opened the utility. Then it shows the drafts. If I close the utility and open it again, "Draft Version of Returns" is still empty. This is weird.

It seems there is some setting that is affecting. I tried closing other software that is open in my computer. Still same issue persists. Though I have a workaround to restart the laptop to continue, just wanted to know if someone is aware of a fix for this.

I filed ITR grievance. They promptly closed it as resolved without really resolving it. They asked for PAN but the PAN field is greyed when filing the grievance. Looks like they are more interested in closing the tickets than actually addressing the problem

Replies (3)

Quick Summary

Users of the ITR Offline JSON Utility are encountering an issue where saved draft returns disappear from the 'Draft Version of Returns' tab. While restarting the laptop temporarily resolves this, a permanent fix is sought. Potential causes include issues with Java resource management, file permissions, or interference from system services. One user found success by repairing Microsoft Webview2, though the problem resurfaced later, suggesting software conflicts.

Aashok Kumar Sharma

Finance/Compliance Consultant

67353 Points Posted on 15 August 2025

Hi Sri77,

You're not alone—many users of the Income Tax Department's Offline JSON Utility for ITR filing have reported similar issues with saved drafts disappearing from the “Draft Version of Returns” tab unless they restart the system.

The utility temporarily caches data in local app files, and sometimes:

It fails to reload the draft list due to file permission or memory-related issues.
Java (on which the utility runs) might not be properly releasing or refreshing resources on exit.
System services or antivirus/firewall may interfere with reading/writing cache or temp files.

Ranjan

1130 Points Posted on 15 August 2025

@ Asha Kanta Sharma

@ Sri77

The Offline Utility for AY2025-26 is not Java based.

It uses Microsoft Edge Webview and can only work in Microsoft Windows 10 or 11, 64Bit.

I do not have a clue, where the data is saved while the ITR is still in draft form.

IT Department or Infosys have not given any guidelines or help about this utility. What I wrote is based on many days and hours spent trying to file ITR-2 for someone.