Many social media users claimed that the Income Tax Department's portal recently showed bizarre illustrations for the session expired status while filing Income Tax Return (ITR) on the last day, which initially was September 15, 2025. Many taxpayers reported persistent technical glitches on the Income Tax e-filing portal. The deadline was, however, extended by one day.
The illustration showed a man lying on the ground, who appeared to be lifeless, with a yellow garland around his neck. An incense stick was also kept near him to make it look like a funeral. The graphic sparked mixed reactions, with some users jokingly asking, "Is this for real?". Meanwhile, one user labelled it as "distasteful". "Wtf is this art used by income tax? Dead body for session expired? This is so distasteful," the user wrote.
See the post here:
The illustrations were different from what usually appear on the site - a person holding a power plug disconnected, unplugged or separated from its socket.
In another post, one user claimed that the session-expired page also showed a man doing Rajasthani dancing. In the caption, the user wrote, "ITR filing portal by Infosys be like: Forget your returns, enjoy our free 'Ghoomar dance' show instead. Every time 'Session Expired' pops up, it feels like I'm filing patience returns, not income tax."
However, NDTV can't confirm the authenticity of these illustrations.
ITR deadline day
Many users claimed that the website was running extremely slowly and failed to load crucial pages on the last day. The website also showed errors while uploading forms and submitting returns.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes extended the due date for filing ITRs for Assessment Year 2025-26 from 15th September, 2025, to 16th September, 2025, an official release announced. The due date for filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRS) for AY 2025-26, originally due on 31st July 2025, was extended to 15th September 2025.
In a statement, the IT department had said that fake messages were being circulated suggesting that the deadline, originally due on July 31, 2025 and later extended to September 15, 2025, had been pushed to September 30.
The department urged taxpayers to rely only on updates from its verified handle @IncomeTaxIndia and not to be misled by unverified posts.
