Hence they were unable to meet their payment schedules. Several corporates had to default on their contractual obligations and faced the risk of significant penalties for delayed payments. The CBDT had given advance notice that the ertswhile portal would not function for six days up to June 6. Taxpayers didn't expect the new portal to throw up so many glitches, including the inability to register. Ameet Patel, chairperson of the taxation committee at the Bombay Chartered Accountant's Society stated, while it is good that the CBDT had introduced this relaxation for Forms 15CA/15CB, the fact remains that it took them a week to take this step. In the interim, for two weeks (since June1) remittances have been held up for no fault of taxpayers. Patel added that unfortunately plecemeal remedial steps are being taken. No action has been taken with regards to the ongoing assessments where notices are being e-mailed to taxpayers to comply within a day or two, eve though it is impossible to do so as the new I-T portal is non-functional. We certainly expect more from the authorities. According to government sources, high level meetings between the finance ministry officials and Infosys the tech service provider are likely in the coming days. According to government sources, high level meetings between the finance ministry officials and Infosys the tech service provider are likely in the coming days. As most of India stayed home since April last year due to Covid-induced restrictions, gaming has emerged as a strong category, with as many as 360 million Indians going online last year against 300 million in 2019. The 20% growth in gamers and heightened activity online also saw an 18% rise in revenues from gaming that are estimated to have touched Rs 7,700 core in 2020 against.
