New income tax filing portal launched today; all you need to know

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has launched the new income tax e-filing portal-- www.incometax.gov.in today (June 7). The previous website to file ITRs was-- www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. E-filing services were not available from June 1-6, 2021 due to the transition to the new portal.

The Finance Ministry has urged taxpayers/stakeholders to be patient after the launch of the new portal "since this is a major transition". Besides providing ease of compliance, the new portal is aimed at providing the taxpayers a seamless and modern experience.

A mobile app to file ITR is also in the pipeline, according to the Ministry of Finance's official communique dated June 5, 2021.

Also read: Get tax refunds faster now! I-T department to launch new portal on Jun 7

New income tax filing portal features, benefits

• This new portal will be integrated with immediate processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) to issue quick refunds.

• Interactions and uploads or pending actions of the taxpayer will be displayed on a single dashboard for follow-up action

• Free of cost ITR preparation software will be available on the new portal to help with taxpayers' queries for ITR 1, 4 (online and offline) and ITR 2 (offline). The facility will be made available shortly for ITRs 3, 5, 6, 7

• The new ITR website will also have a new online payment system with multiple payment options like net banking, UPI, credit card, and RTGS or NEFT from any account of the taxpayer in any bank to ensure hassle-free payments

• Systems like call centres, tutorials, videos, and chatbots or live agents will be in place to address taxpayers' queries

• Taxpayers can update their profiles to provide details of income (salary, house property, business/profession which will be used in ITR pre-filing).

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

• Functions to file income tax forms, add tax professionals, submit responses to notices in faceless scrutiny or appeals would also be made available

• The IT Department will utilise this website to not only file tax returns but also for responding to taxpayers' queries and giving orders like assessments, penalties, exemptions, and appeals

• Taxpayers can not only file ITRs under individual and other categories but also raise complaints about refunds and other works with the IT Department

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

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