Income tax returns: New e-filing portal to launch from today; Here are the 5 new features

As per the income tax law, individual taxpayers filing ITR-1 or 4 are required to file their return for the previous financial year (2020-21), which ended March 2021, by July 31, 2021.

The income tax department will launch its new e-filing portal today. The new portal www.incometax.gov.in has released several new features which would be integrated with immediate processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for quick refund issuance.

The new e-filing portal is aimed at providing taxpayer convenience and a modern, seamless experience to taxpayers, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.

The statement added, "The taxpayer friendly portal is integrated with immediate processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) to issue quick refunds to taxpayers".

The 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.

The mobile app will also be released subsequent to the initial launch of the portal, to enable taxpayers to get familiar with the various features.

-All interactions and uploads or pending actions will be displayed on a single dashboard for follow-up action by taxpayer.

-Free of cost ITR preparation software available with interactive questions to help taxpayers for ITRs 1, 4 (online and offline) and ITR 2 (offline) to begin with; Facility for preparation of ITRs 3, 5, 6, 7 will be made available shortly.

-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. Detailed enablement of pre-filling with salary income, interest, dividend and capital gains will be available after TDS and SFT statements are uploaded (due date is June 30th, 2021)

-New call center for taxpayer assistance for promt response to taxpayer queries. Detailed FAQs, User Manuals, Videos and chatbot/live agent also provided.

-Functionalities for filing Income Tax Forms, Add tax professionals, Submit responses to Notices in Faceless Scrutiny or Appeals would be available.