The income tax authorities will not extend the last date of filing returns — July 31 — finance ministry officials said. The floods in North India had raised the possibility of an extension of the last date. The IT department said over 3 crore returns have been filed, with 91 per cent verified electronically.

Tax experts said the government should consider the havoc caused by the floods and the glitches in the tax portal to extend the deadline.

“People of several states are affected by natural calamity and floods and roads have been damaged or blocked due to landslides. Added to this, there are some glitches in the tax portal as the portal does not seem to be able to take the load,” advocate and tax expert Narayan Jain said.

“Such an extension will help the honest taxpayers to file at ease and the government would not lose any revenue,” he said.

The income tax department said its website is being upgraded, and will not be accessible from July 22 to 24.

However, the tax filing portal will continue to function normally. “The services of the e-Filing website www.incometax.gov.in relating to Income Tax Return/ TDS statements etc will continue to be accessible/available.”