Officials Blame Infosys For GST Technical Issues; Claim Poor Quality Software!

Someone had to take the blame, and in this case, it is Infosys.

GST blame game has officially started, as Govt. officials are blaming Infosys for delivering a poor quality software for handling GST filings, and have accused them of unprofessionalism.

Infosys has vehemently denied these charges.

What is the truth?

Whom shall small traders and SMEs trust now?

GST Technical Issues Remain Unsolved; Infosys Is The Culprit?

Top level unnamed Govt. officials have directly blamed Infosys for creating a poor quality software for GST filing, and have said that the GST glitches is happening because of Infosys.

Infosys was given the Rs 1380 crore contract to develop GST’s backend in 2015, and had a year to develop and test the system.

One of the officials said,

“It has been a disappointing experience,”

In September, we had questioned about GST Portal, and had asked whether it can handle 300 crore invoices a month? Already 25 issues had been discovered by then, which has now snowballed into a major disruption in service.

On October 30th, Govt. once again deferred the filing of GSTR-2, which was originally meant for July, to November. GSTR-2 was actually meant to be filed in July, and the delay is causing much anger and discomfort to the Govt. officials, as the whole schedule gets disrupted.

Besides, it is a big hassle for small traders and SMEs as well, who are required to file GST only via the portal.

Another Govt. official expressed his frustration, as he said,

“While the long-term problem we face is inculcating a culture of tax compliance, the short-term problem is on account of Infosys,”

Govt. officials have said that the system is too slow, a complaint which was even shared by traders and businesses earlier, and Infosys is not even being responsive here.

The official said, “They (Infosys) should have been more responsive,”

Infosys Denies The Accusations

Meanwhile, Infosys has vehemently denied the accusations, and have said that everything going as per the plan.

The company said to an email query posted by ET: “The information you have received is completely inaccurate,”

As per Infosys, some of the best engineers are working on the GST system, and issues are bound to surface, considering the magnitude of the project.

Of Course, managing 300 crore invoices a month is not easy.

In the reply, Infosys said,

“Given the complex nature of the project and rapid change management, there have been several stakeholder concerns that have also been raised. Some of our finest engineers are supporting the GSTN team as they work towards resolving these and serving all stakeholders.”

PM Modi will oversee an important meeting related with GST implementation this week, and Infosys’ performance and accountability would be discussed as well.

 

We will keep you updated as we receive more information.