India’s income tax filing season for Assessment Year (AY) 2025-26 (Financial Year 2024-25) is off to a rocky start, marked by significant delays in form releases, minimal processing of filed returns, and new mandates causing concerns among taxpayers and professionals alike. Social media platforms are abuzz with complaints, highlighting a growing frustration with the Income Tax Department’s preparedness.
As of June 13, 2025, over 20 lakh Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have been filed, yet a startlingly low number – reportedly just “4” – have been processed by the Income Tax Department. This stark contrast, as highlighted by tax consultant Ram Bajaj (@rambajajgst), has led to calls for transparency, with suggestions for the government to publicly identify these “lucky” individuals and their ITRs to offer guidance on efficient filing.
Taxology India (@taxologyin) echoed these concerns, pointing out that essential ITR forms like ITR-2, ITR-3, ITR-5, and others are still not released, further exacerbating the filing woes. The due date for filing ITRs for non-audit assessees has already been extended by 45 days, from July 31, 2025, to September 15, 2025, primarily because the forms were made available much later than the usual April 1st schedule, with ITR-1 and ITR-4 utilities only being released around May 30th and enabling online filing by June 4th.
The delay in form releases is a recurring theme, causing significant inconvenience. CA Himank Singla (@CAHimankSingla) took to social media to urge the Income Tax Department to promptly release utilities for ITR-2, ITR-3, ITR-5, ITR-6, and ITR-7 for AY 2025-26. Additionally, there’s a pressing need for the release of utilities for filing updated returns for AYs 2021-22 and 2022-23 as per the Finance Act, 2025, and Form 3CA/3CB-3CD for AY 2025-26.
Adding to the complexities, the Cost Inflation Index (CII) for FY 2025-26, crucial for calculating long-term capital gains and advance tax, has not yet been notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). This creates a hurdle for taxpayers, particularly those with capital gains from property sales, as the first installment of advance tax for FY 2025-26 was due on June 15, 2025. Tax professionals are advising taxpayers to use an estimated CII, perhaps by adding 3-4% to the previous year’s CII (363 for FY 2024-25), or conservatively using the previous year’s index to avoid underpayment interest.
In a recent procedural change, the Income Tax Department has also made Aadhaar OTP verification mandatory for registering PAN on the e-filing portal. This new mandate aims to enhance identity verification and prevent misuse, but it also means that a valid mobile number linked to Aadhaar is now indispensable for the registration process.
While the Income Tax Department has been working to reduce ITR processing times in recent years, with average processing now reportedly down to 10 days, the current delays in form availability and actual processing of filed returns for the current assessment year are raising significant concerns across the tax fraternity. Taxpayers and professionals are keenly awaiting swift action from the authorities to streamline the process and ensure a smoother tax season.
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