Advantages Of The New Income Tax E-Filing Portal For Taxpayers

“Change is the only constant” in this world is a true saying. And, given the current circumstances across the globe, we all have accepted that adjusting to change is the only way to live a peaceful life. Whether good or bad, nothing in this perishable world lives forever. When they have played their role in this time, their time comes to bid farewell to this world and let their successors come and carry out their duties.

The change serves as a basis to live our lives. Some changes may be good, while some may be hard to accept. But, here we will be discussing the good changes which our government recently made in the income e-portal website. These amendments will surely provide a lot of benefit to our loyal taxpayers, making their e-filing of income tax returns an easier and more convenient task than before.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) or the Income Tax Department on 7th of July 2021 had launched a new income tax e-portal, viz “www.incometax.gov.on,” replacing the existing “www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.” All the income tax returns or ITRs and other tax-related activities that taxpayers carried out through the old website will now have to do the same tasks on the new income tax filing website. The new income tax e-filing portal is being redesigned to offer a modern and seamless facility concerning income tax return filing and other tax-related matters that will make e-filing more convenient for the taxpayers.

The government has specifically commented on the new e-filing portal as “taxpayer-friendly.” The launch of the new e-filing portal is yet another effort by the income tax department to offer ease in income tax compliance to its taxpayers and other stakeholders. So, it’s time to move ahead and learn about the new features on the new e-filing portal and how this new website is beneficial to the taxpayers.

Additional Features in the New Income Tax E-Filing Portal

1. Providing Free of Cost ITR Preparation Software

Along with the launch of the new e-filing portal, the IT department also announced free ITR preparation software, which will be of great benefit to the taxpayers. At the moment, ITR-1 and ITR-4 preparation software are available in both online and offline mode, while ITR-2 software is available only in online mode. The remaining ITR preparation software concerning ITR-3, ITR-5. ITR-6 and ITR-7 are in the queue and to be launched soon. The preparation software consists of interactive questions that are aimed to make the e-filing process simple.

2. Speeding Up ITR Processing

With the introduction of the new taxpayer-friendly e-filing portal, the income tax return filed by a taxpayer shall be processed immediately. And, due to this fast processing of income tax returns, taxpayers will be receiving their refunds quickly.

3. Offering Call Center Services

The redesigned income tax website has a “new call centre” feature to assist the taxpayers on an urgent basis. This call centre service will provide an immediate response to the taxpayers’ queries with an appropriate solution. Moreover, tutorials, detailed faqs, live bots or chatbots, and videos are also featured on the new portal to address the taxpayers’ issues at the earliest.

4. Single Dashboard Interactions

With the incorporation of a single dashboard in the new e-filing portal, taxpayers will be able to see all their uploads, interactions, and pending actions along with the follow-up action through the single dashboard.

5. Providing Multiple Payment Options

Multiple payment options have been placed on the new income tax portal to ease tax payment for the taxpayers. The new payments introduced are UPI, Credit Card, NEFT/RTGS, and Net Banking through a taxpayer’s bank account. This facility was opened on the new e-filing portal by the income tax department after 18th June 2021, so that taxpayers do not face any difficulty while paying the first instalment of advance tax.

6. Ease of Mobile Application

In the due time, the IT department will be launching a mobile application that will have all the functions of the new e-filing portal. Post-launch, the taxpayers will be able to access the mobile application 24x7 using a fast-speed mobile internet connection.

7. Availability of Pre-Filled ITRs

The taxpayers can pre-file some details concerning certain incomes on the new portal. Such detail can be related to any of the five heads of income, viz house property, salary, business/profession, capital gains, and other sources. Besides, taxpayers can also pre-file information regarding salary income, dividend, interest, and capital gains in detail via the new e-filing portal. However, taxpayers will be allowed to pre-file details related to the income mentioned above when the concerned entities upload SFT and TDS statements.    

Old Features That Exists in the New Income Tax E-filing Portal

The existing income tax e-filing portal was launched to allow taxpayers to file their income tax returns and other forms online. The same services will be available on the new e-filing portal in an enhanced and user-friendly manner and the following old features that have been carried forward from the existing portal.

• E-verification of income tax returns.
• To see and make a reply to an unpaid income tax demand.
• Checking the tax credit statement, i.e. Form 26AS.
• Checking mismatch in the tax credit.
• File audit reports and certificates.
• Placing a request for refund re-issue.
• Ask for intimations.
• Appeal for alterations of ITR particulars.
• Linking PAN with Aadhaar.
• Filing grievances online.
• Reply to e-proceedings.

List of Things to be Done by Taxpayers

• Because taxpayers’ earlier registered Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs) have not been migrated owing to security reasons, they need to re-register their DSCs on the new income tax e-filing portal,
• All the taxpayers are required to update their user ID and mobile number under their profile’s primary contacts head,
• Link their Aadhaar card and validate their bank account beforehand if not previously,
• Resetting the e-Filing Vault Higher Security Options.

Benefits of the New E-Filing Portal to the Taxpayers

Though most of the new income tax benefits are similar to its new features, a few are there that need to be mentioned here. Continue reading to know about the benefits of the new e-filing portal per the press release issued by the Ministry of Finance on 5th June 2021.

• The new portal would allow adding tax professionals, functionalities of filing ITR, submitting replies to income tax notices under the option Faceless Scrutiny of Appeals.
• The new income tax web portal will process the ITRs immediately as soon as the taxpayers file them on the portal. Because of immediate processing, taxpayers will receive their income tax refunds quickly.
• The new portal will feature a single dashboard that will display all the uploads and interactions done by the taxpayer along with the pending actions for follow-up actions.
• The introduction of free ITR preparation software on the web portal for forms ITR1 and 4, available both online and offline. And, for ITR2 only offline.
• Likewise, other ITR forms, such as ITR3, 5, 6, and 7 will be introduced shortly on the new portal.
• In the new portal, taxpayers will find certain details concerning incomes from salary, house property, capital gains, business/profession, and other sources pre-filled in the ITR.
• Additionally, the new e-filing portal will enable the taxpayers to pre-fill details concerning salary income, capital gains, interest, and dividend only after TDS and SFT statements are uploaded on the portal. And, the last day to upload the two documents is June 30th, 2021.
• Later this year, a mobile application will be released with the benefits of the new e-filing portal to help taxpayers file their returns at any time and from any place.
• A call centre facility has been added to the new web portal to offer prompt assistance to taxpayers' queries. Also added, are detailed faqs, videos, user manuals, and chatbots.
• Multiple payment options are now available under the new e-filing portal, such as Net Banking, Credit Card, NEFT/RTGS, and UPI.

The income tax portal is a key and authentic medium to file income tax returns. So, the ease of using it and the process of filing returns must be quick. The launch of the new e-filing portal is also seen as the government's bid to compete with the private e-filing websites. Whatever may be the reason, the taxpayers will be relieved from the time-consuming older portal and greatly benefit from the new one.              

Also read:

1) What Happens to Indian's Tax Money after Payment?
2) Top-10 Highest Tax Paying States in India
3) Why Do We Pay Income Tax in India? Importance, Applicability & more
4) Types of Direct & Indirect Taxes in India
5) OkCredit: All you need to know about OkCredit & how it works.

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FAQs

Q. Has the ITR filing deadline for individuals extended?

Ans. Yes, the income tax department has extended the income tax return filing deadline for the individual taxpayer's category for 2020-2021 till 30th September 2021 to ease the compliance burden on taxpayers in the middle of the ongoing second wave of the covid-19 pandemic.

Q. How is e-verification of ITR done?

Ans. A taxpayer can e-verify his ITR within 120 days from the day he had e-filed his return. The ITR can be e-verified by Aadhaar Card, Net Banking, or EVC.

Q. How do I log in to the new e-filing portal?

Ans. To log in to the new income tax web portal, you will have to enter your User ID, your PAN Card number, password, and the Captcha code flashing on the screen, and then click on the “Login” tab.