The government has amended Income-tax Rules, 1962, which provide that electronic records submitted through taxpayers' registered accounts in the I-T Department's portal will be deemed to have been authenticated by the taxpayer using an electronic verification code (EVC).
The move will ease the process of authentication of electronic records in faceless assessment proceedings.
"Therefore, where a person submits an electronic record by logging into his registered account in the designated portal of the Income-tax Department, it shall be deemed that the electronic record has been authenticated by EVC for the purposes of section 144B(7)(i)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961," the Finance Ministry statement said.
The ministry, however, said the simplified process of authentication by EVC is not available to companies and tax audit cases. They are also mandatorily required to authenticate electronic records by digital signature.
"In order to provide the benefit of the simplified process of authentication by EVC to these persons, it has been decided to extend the simplified process of authentication by EVC to these persons also," the ministry said.
It added that those who need to mandatorily authenticate electronic records by digital signature will be deemed to have authenticated the electronic records when they submit the record through their registered account in the Income-tax Department's portal.
As per the ministry, legislative amendments in this regard will be proposed in due course.
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