The Income-Tax (I-T) Department is launching its new e-filing portal, with several new features, today. The new features will be integrated with the immediate processing of I-T Returns (ITR) for quick refund issuance, the department said.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in a statement said the new portal is aimed at providing taxpayers with “convenience” and a “modern, seamless experience”, adding that a mobile app will be released later, “to enable taxpayers to get familiar with the various features”.
The CBDT statement further clarified that the new tax payment system will be launched on June 18th, 2021 after the advance tax instalment date to avoid any taxpayer inconvenience.
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Here’s a look at some of the new features on the e-filing portal:
- Single dashboard displaying uploads and pending actions for follow-up action by taxpayers.
- ITR preparation software with interactive questions will be free-of-cost to help taxpayers file ITRs 1 and 4 online and offline, and ITR 2 offline. Facilities for ITRs 3, 5, 6, 7 will be made available shortly.
- Profile updates in pre-filing of ITR can be done proactively for certain details such as business/profession, house property and salary. The same will also be available for capital gains, dividend, interest and salary income details after TDS and SFT statements are uploaded.
- New call centres for assistance and prompt response to taxpayers and their queries. The portal will also provide chatbot/live agent services, detailed FAQs, user manuals and videos.
- A few of the new functionalities include: Add tax professionals, faceless scrutiny or appeals, filing I-T forms, and submitting responses to notices.
Faceless Scrutiny Scheme
- The faceless scrutiny or appeals facility will now be available to taxpayers via the I-T Department’s new e-filing portal.
- Under the faceless assessment system, a taxpayer or assessee is not required to visit an income tax department office for resolution of their issues.
- A central electronic-based system picks up tax returns for scrutiny based on risk parameters and mismatches and then allots them randomly to a team of IT officers in any city. The scrutiny by these officers will be reviewed by officers at another randomly selected location.
- As of February 2021, about 2 lakh cases are presently being evaluated under the faceless assessment scheme of income tax cases, out of which finality has been achieved in an estimated 35,000 cases, as per CBDT chief PC Mody.
- Mody called the faceless assessment scheme a step towards ensuring "better" taxpayer services.
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