It’s July and one thing that is on everyone’s mind is the filing of tax returns. The Income tax department has taken several steps to ease the process and increase compliance. Some of the technology initiatives that have been undertaken by the tax department include e-payment of taxes, simplified tax return forms, e-verification of ITR-V, e-assessments etc. In addition, the tax department’s digital communication via regular e-mails, text messages and advertisements has increased awareness amongst taxpayers.
Nowadays, one should not feel hesitant in filing their income tax returns. There are several websites which also helps you filing your returns with ease.
Amarpal S Chadha, Partner and India Mobility Leader, Ernst & Young LLP said that all these initiatives and the focus on unaccounted money have increased the taxpayer base, with the number of e-returns filed increasing to 5.28 Crore in the financial year 2016-17 from last year's 4 Crore approximately. “As tax authorities move towards greater digitisation, taxpayers should follow the developments closely to ensure compliance and hassle-free correspondence with the tax authorities,” he said.
The tax department has introduced several new features to ease down the process and reduce the complexity in filing returns. Here are 5 reasons how the filing of ITR has become easy and a quick process.
Easy to register
If it is your first time or you want to file your tax returns on your own, create your login ID on ITR filing website. It is simple, you just need to have your PAN card along with you and after that, you need to follow the steps one after the other. Once it is done, you can file your returns hassle-free.
Pre-fill text option
Over the years, the tax return forms have been re-worked for individual taxpayers. Also, additional features like the pre-fill option of the tax returns with personal information and tax details as available in the tax department’s database is a good help. Divya Baweja, Partner, Deloitte India, “Digitization has eased the onerous process of manual feeding of personal information and income/tax details. “Data already available with the tax authorities in the form of PAN and Form 26AS can be pre-populated in returns filed through ITR 1,” she said.
Pay digitally
With the introduction of e-payment, the tax can be paid anytime and anywhere. The tax department has also introduced a link in the tax return form which takes the taxpayers directly to the portal for e-payment of taxes in order to ease the process for taxpayers.