The Income Tax (I-T) department will launch its new redesigned e-filing website aimed at providing a seamless user experience on Monday, June 7. The new e-filing website www.incometax.gov.in will replace the earlier website, www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.
The CBDT frames policy for the Income Tax Department and the e-filing website is used by the taxpayers to file their tax returns and perform other transactions with the department. "Familiarisation with the new system may take some time, so, the department requests the patience of all taxpayers/stakeholders for the initial period after the launch of the new portal and while other functionalities get released since this is a major transition," the CBDT statement said.
Here are some key points to know:
> New mobile app: The new income tax website will soon be available on mobile phones and the mobile application will be later enabled for access on a mobile network. All major functions such as filing returns, applying for refunds, etc. can be accessed from the app.
> Quick refunds: The new taxpayer-friendly portal is integrated with immediate processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) to issue quick refunds to taxpayers.
> Single dashboard: Taxpayers will be able to access all uploads, interactions and any pending actions from a single dashboard without having to navigate through multiple pages. This is expected to save time for taxpayers while filing their income tax returns. It will also have a free ITR preparation software with interactive questions to help taxpayers to file ITRs 1, 4 (online and offline) and ITR 2 (offline) to begin with and the facility for preparation of ITRs 3, 5, 6, 7 will be made available shortly.
> Profile update: Taxpayers will be able to proactively update their profile to provide certain details of income including salary, house property, business/profession which will be used in pre-filling their ITR in the new web portal. Detailed enablement of pre-filling with salary income, interest, dividend and capital gains will be available after TDS (tax deducted at source) and SFT (statement of financial transaction) statements are uploaded (due date June 30, 2021), the CBDT said.
> Multiple payment options: The new portal will facilitate payment of taxes through multiple payment options such as net banking, credit card, UPI, and RTGS/NEFT. The transactions can be processed from any account of a taxpayer to any bank.
> Faceless scrutiny: Functionalities to file income tax forms, add tax professionals, submit responses to notices in faceless scrutiny or appeals would be available, the CBDT said. Under the faceless scrutiny system, a taxpayer need not visit an income tax department office for resolution of issues.
> Taxpayer helpline: A new call centre for taxpayer assistance for prompt response to taxpayer queries is also planned and the portal will have detailed FAQs, user manuals, videos and chatbot/live agent also.
With PTI inputs