The GST Network, that provides IT backbone to the online tax system, will reopen enrolment from June 25.
As India gets ready to roll out its most ambitious tax system - the Goods and Services Tax or GST - to replace a maze of indirect taxes with an online-based system in less than 10 days, the attention is turning to the IT system that will have to handle tax returns filed by 8 million businesses.
"We are confident that our systems are glitch free," says Nabin Kumar, chairman of the GST Network, the organisation that provides the IT backbone to the online tax system. On June 11, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra had expressed "his apprehensions about the IT preparedness" of GSTN.
Mr Kumar said the faults had been rectified. "We have tested our systems with end users in May and based on the feedback from them, we have rectified the issues that we faced," he said.
The GSTN chief also asked businessmen not to panic if they have not yet enrolled for the new online based tax system. "I want to convey this message through you that there is no need to panic. Those who have not yet enrolled, our systems will open from June 25 and will remain open for 3 months," Mr Kumar.
The GSTN chief also tried to allay fears about hacking and data leakage.
Explaining that a multi-tiered security has been put in place to check any attempt at hacking, Kumar said, "There is perimeter security or physical security. Then there is security at the network level, security at the application level, security at the data level. Even when we are writing codes, we adopt what is known as safe coding practices so that we don't make any mistakes or have any loopholes for anybody to enter."
A retired civil servant who has spent years preparing for the launch, Mr Kumar said a round the clock security operations centre will also be set up. "So this centre will monitor the traffic coming to our portal and if they find any suspicious activity, they will raise alarm to action to be taken."