In the Office Memorandum dated June 18th, there was some relief as we received news about an extension of the deadline for annual filing. However, as we approach the final date—September 30th—recent portal outage from 25th September to 27th September have raised significant concerns about the feasibility of completing compliance on time.
A Question of Compliance
The extended deadline gave us some extra time, but the persistent technical issues now cast a shadow over the completion of compliance processes. Companies with extensive data entries are struggling as the portal remains unreliable. This becomes especially problematic for larger corporations, which have to manage and upload hundreds of thousands of entries—each accompanied by mandatory invoices.
The outages create a bottleneck, as filing must be completed on time and every detail needs to be verified. Adding to the frustration, many users report that the portal is consistently down, significantly reducing the window for working efficiently.
Apart from the outages, session-ending in 2 hours is also a concern for the users of the portal, further making it challenging for them to fulfil compliances on portal.
Concerns Regarding Functionality and Filing Timelines
During a recent official meeting regarding the CPCB Portal, it was acknowledged that the portal is currently undergoing maintenance. However, the ongoing failures and lack of functionality raise significant concerns about its management of this critical timeline. With companies left waiting as deadlines approach, it is evident that large organizations, already burdened with extensive entries, are facing challenges in completing their filings.
The Clock is Ticking
With the September 30th deadline looming, and the portal still facing significant downtime, time is running out. Companies need 24/7 access to ensure smooth compliance, but these technical hurdles are making that impossible. If the current situation persists, many organizations may find themselves unable to meet the deadline through no fault of their own.
As we navigate these challenges, it becomes increasingly important for CPCB to address these outages and ensure that the portal is fully functional. A more robust system is necessary to prevent compliance failures and mitigate the risks faced by businesses trying to adhere to mandatory regulations.
Despite the extension announced in the June 18th Office Memorandum, recent portal outages from September 25th have raised concerns about timely compliance as the September 30th deadline approaches.
A suggestion: To make a logbook of outages
In order to track the outages, we suggest CPCB to add a module with logs of such outage. This can help identify the peak hours and manage the traffic on portal accordingly.
Speculations Regarding Deadline Extension
In light of the current challenges, there are growing rumors about a potential extension of the filing deadline. It is worth noting that the CPCB has the authority to extend the deadline by up to nine months, which raises the question of whether such an extension is plausible under these circumstances.
Edit dated: 01/Oct/2024
As per our speculation, the deadline for filing the annual return for the Financial Year 2023-24 has been extended to November 30, 2024. This extension has been officially reflected on the portal, confirming that the last date to submit the annual report is indeed November 30, 2024. This change provides businesses and organizations additional time to ensure compliance and accuracy in their filings.