OTP-based e-filing for taxpayers kicks in

The Income Tax (I-T) department launched its one-time password (OTP)-based e-filing verification system for taxpayers on Monday, which would end the requirement for sending a hard copy through post as part of the acknowledgement process to its office in Bangalore.

The facility can be accessed using Internet banking, Aadhaar number , ATM and email. According to rules notified in this regard by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday, any taxpayer whose income is Rs 5 lakh or below per annum and has no refund claims can straightaway generate the electronic verification code (EVC) for e-filing and validating his/her income tax return (ITR) through registered mobile number and e-mail id with the department.

However, this simplified option will be subject to certain restrictions which will be prepared by tax authorities based on the concerned taxpayer's risk criteria and profile on a case-to-case basis. This simply means that if the department has some adverse observation against the said PAN number with income less than Rs 5 lakh, the assessee will not be allowed to do the verification directly through their email and mobile number alone and such cases will have to go through the other established procedures in this regard like link-up through Aadhaar database, Internet baking or via the ATM, a senior official said.

The OTP will be valid for 72 hours except in case of Aadhaar-based verification. In case of Aadhaar-based verification, the OTP or EVC will be sent to the taxpayers' mobile number registered with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) records. In the other options given, those taxpayers who have activated Internet banking can do the e-verification of their ITR.

The facility will be available on the Internet banking website and the verifier will use this facility using Internet banking id, login password and transaction password, the latest CBDT rules state. Once logged in, the taxpayer will send the EVC to his mobile number provided in the official efiling web portal of the department which they will put in their ITR for final submission.