The old income tax has become redundant and the upcoming income tax e-filing portal which is set to launch on June 7 will come up with several interesting features that are meant to be tax-friendly.
In a statement, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has revealed that the new income tax portal will have features like immediate processing of tax returns for the quick issue of refunds, interactive software for easier preparation of returns.
CBDT further added that every interaction, upload, and pending action will be available on a single dashboard for follow-up action by the taxpayer. Meanwhile, the tax return filing feature will be up for use only on June 18.
CBDT also informed that a new mobile app would also be launched to help taxpayers understand the various features. “Familiarisation with the new system may take some time, so the department requests the patience of all taxpayers and 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 statement said.
The new and updated website would further increase the ease of compliance and the whole rationale behind is to offer a modern, seamless experience to taxpayers, CBDT said.
- New taxpayer-friendly portal integrated with immediate processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) to issue quick refunds to taxpayers;
- All interactions and uploads or pending actions will be displayed on a single dashboard for follow-up action by the 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 prompt 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
It is clarified that the new tax payment system will be launched on June 18th, 2021 after the advance tax installment 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. Familiarization 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. This is another initiative by CBDT towards providing ease of compliance to its taxpayers and other stakeholders.
