- India’s Income Tax portal added an in-system complaint route for corruption, harassment, and sexual harassment reports.
- Both registered taxpayers and unregistered users without PAN or TAN can file, with OTP required for pre-login submissions.
- Complaints can include up to 3,000 words, officer details, and tracking through an acknowledgement number.
India’s Income Tax portal has added an in-system route for taxpayers to report corruption and harassment by tax officials, including bribe demands and sexual harassment. Reports dated September 1, 2026, described the facility as newly available on the e-filing platform.
The change moves complaints about officials into the same digital environment taxpayers use for income-tax services. It covers alleged misconduct by an officer, rather than only technical problems with filing or account access.
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Both registered and unregistered users can submit complaints. The second route is available even to people without a PAN or TAN.
A taxpayer with an account can log in and open the grievance section. Someone outside the registration system can use the pre-login facility instead.
The pre-login process asks for a name, email address and mobile number. It also requires OTP verification before the user submits the complaint.
The form identifies the official and captures the allegation. It asks for the concerned officer’s name and designation, followed by details of the incident.
Two access routes lead to the same complaint form
The portal presents separate entry points for registered taxpayers and people filing before login. The complaint itself uses specified misconduct categories.
| User | Access route | Contact or identity details | Submission path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered taxpayer | Login to the e-filing portal | Account-linked details, plus the officer’s name and designation | Grievances → Submit Grievance |
| Non-registered user without a PAN or TAN | Pre-login grievance facility | Name, email address, mobile number and OTP verification | Open the pre-login grievance facility and submit the report |
The cited categories include Corruption and Misbehaviour/Harassment/Sexual Harassment. Users can describe what allegedly occurred and identify the official connected to the incident.
The officer fields give the complaint a specific subject. The incident-details section gives the taxpayer room to set out the allegation rather than selecting only a broad service problem.
The portal records the complaint and supplies a tracking reference
A detailed submission can reportedly contain up to 3,000 words. That limit allows a complainant to provide a narrative along with the identifying information requested by the form.
No electronic verification is required merely to submit a grievance, according to portal help material summarized in coverage. The separate OTP step applies to the pre-login process described for users outside the registered system.
After filing, users can reportedly follow the complaint with an acknowledgement number and the registered mobile number. The reference creates a way to return to the submission after it enters the grievance system.
The department’s existing e-filing grievance process also gives taxpayers a transaction or acknowledgement number for complaints. The added categories focus that mechanism on alleged conduct by tax officials.
The route is presented as part of the government’s broader CPGRAMS-linked redress framework. It therefore connects the new in-portal option with a wider public grievance structure.
The categories cover alleged misconduct beyond routine tax disputes
The facility has been described as a response to complaints about how taxpayers are treated by officials. Its scope includes misbehaviour, harassment and sexual harassment, alongside allegations that an officer sought money.
A report characterized the alleged conduct this way:
“engaged in sexual misconduct or sought a bribe.”
The wording describes allegations that taxpayers may report through the system. It is not a finding against any particular officer.
The Income Tax Department is the agency linked to the e-filing facility. Reports tied the update to the portal itself, rather than to a separately named launch event or announcement by an identified minister or Central Board of Direct Taxes chairperson.
The system also gives complainants a way to include the official’s name and designation in the initial filing. That detail can help direct a complaint within the department’s grievance process.
A Chennai bribery case adds an enforcement backdrop
Separate enforcement activity has underscored the wider setting in which the complaint option appeared. The Central Bureau of Investigation took action against former Income Tax officers in Chennai over an alleged ₹9 lakh bribe.
The case involved alleged receipt of money by tax officials. The portal’s categories extend beyond bribery to cover harassment-related complaints and other alleged misbehaviour.
The new process is available to people who already use the tax website and to those who reach it before login. A complaint can include the officer’s identity, a description of the incident and contact information for follow-up.
The facility was reported as live on September 1, 2026. Its acknowledgement number and registered mobile number provide the concrete details used to track a submission after filing.
