'Dismal’ performance of GST-N: Infosys denies allegations of negligence

Software major Infosys has been caught in the crossfire as traders’ anger over teething problems in the goods and services tax (GST) regime continues.
Employees walk along a corridor in the Infosys campus in Bengaluru. (File photo | Reuters)
Employees walk along a corridor in the Infosys campus in Bengaluru. (File photo | Reuters)

NEW DELHI: Software major Infosys has been caught in the crossfire as traders’ anger over teething problems in the goods and services tax (GST) regime continues.

On Thursday, the firm vehemently denied allegations made by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) that it was responsible for the ‘dismal’ performance of the GST-Network (GSTN).

CAIT, in a statement, had demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into Infosys and other firms that were assigned the work of “creating, updating and maintenance of GST portal”.

Infosys was awarded a Rs 1,380-crore contract in 2015 to develop and run the GSTN -- the IT backbone of the new indirect tax regime.

CAIT has also demanded that the probe has to investigate under what conditions the work was awarded and check for negligence for non-performance of the contract. “Even after four months... the GST portal which was supposed to function properly from July 1 itself is still working like an experiment project causing much harassment and concern to traders,” it said. Infosys, however, categorically denied these allegations, terming them ‘completely inaccurate’.

“Infosys is very proud to be associated with the prestigious GST project, which is the largest tax project of its kind in the world. The system has already demonstrated success across several parameters,” it said in an emailed response. A large, and transformative, project like the GST has to deal with changes in both policy and stakeholder usability and some of these modifications have resulted in rapid changes to the system like its integration with Aadhaar and heterogeneous IT ecosystems, it added.

“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,” it said.

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