Make GSTN portal efficient for tax payers: Finance ministry to Infosys

The finance ministry has asked Infosys to deliver on making the goods and services tax network (GSTN) portal efficient for tax payers, sources said. 

The ministry told Infosys it was the company’s responsibility to deliver satisfactory performance of the portal and it should meet expectations of the tax payers, the sources said. 

The grievances of taxpayers are utmost priority and onus of its resolving lies on the Infosys, the IT major was told at a meeting on Friday, they said. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman deliberated on the status of the portal to address grievances. 

She also spoke to an Infosys representative for a short period. She told the representative that “Infosys has done so much for the country and we expect it to do much more for the smooth operations of GSTN”.

According to sources, she also said the company could directly approach her if it was facing any problem.

Text messages sent to Revenue Secretary A B Pandey and GSTN Chief Executive Officer Prakash Kumar remained unanswered.

Kumar made a presentation on initiatives taken by GSTN to strengthen and streamline the portal. 

GSTN recently launched a new toll-free number for help desk, which will be operational 365 days for answering queries related to indirect tax.

The meeting discussed various measures for streamlining the GST return filing process, enhancing revenue and compliance management with a purpose to create synergy among central and state tax administrations.