Pros and Cons of Advanced I-T Return E-filing 2.0 Portal

The old web portal of the Income Tax Department i.e. incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in has been replaced by a new and more interactive web portal that is assigned the web address of incometax.gov.in. The new web portal has been launched from June 7 onwards. Here are the changes that have made the new website more interactive and appealing. It is synonymous with the car in place of the bullock cart.

USP of New Web Portal

• The new web portal will be quickly and rapidly processing Income Tax Returns and issue refunds.
• Through the “format of Question Answer System”. It is more user-friendly in the sense that even a layman possessing little knowledge of income tax can access it and more importantly complete his task/duty related to income tax.
• The new web portal is having a ‘centralized dashboard’ where the taxpayer can view all
  • Interactions
  • Uploads
  • Pending actions
• In the future, call centers, Video tutorials, Chatbox, and app with the features of the desktop portal will be set up.

Changes to Tax Payment

• In the old income tax regime, tax was paid on the web portal run by National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) that would issue a challan number that had to be quoted in the returns. In the new mechanism, taxpayers will be able to make payments on the tax filing website itself so that the amount paid is immediately shown in the returns.
• Moreover, the domain of paying taxes has been enlarged by encompassing the use of debit cards, credit cards, net banking, and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Taxpayers can pay from their account in any bank.

Any Other Major Changes This Year?

Recently, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has introduced the concept of ‘pre-filled returns’ in Budget 2021. Hence from FY21 onwards, the income tax department shall automatically display data and information on various types of incomes you have earned, such as interest, dividends, capital gains on stocks, and mutual funds.

Consequently, This shall allow you to see all the data in one place.
In addition, If there is no big difference between the data gathered by the department and the taxpayer’s returns, the returns might also get processed faster.

Glitches in The New Web Portal of Income Tax

The most simple login is taking 10-15 minutes and even after that, the web pages are getting stuck. This is causing inconvenience to taxpayers.

On June 7, The Government of India launched a new web portal of Income-tax that is expected to improve taxpayers’ experience. However, on ground zero, the malfunctioning of the web portal is degrading user experience (experience of taxpayers as well as chartered accountants).

“We are unable to perform most of the tasks as the website is not working properly. A simple login is taking at least 10-15 minutes and even after that the pages are getting stuck,” said Tarun Kumar, a Delhi-based chartered accountant.

“We are receiving flak from the clients whose foreign remittances are stuck as the website is not working properly. We are not able to issue certificates in Form 15CB which is required for foreign remittances as the link is not opening,” said Prakash Hegde, a Bengaluru-based chartered accountant.

Was any Privilege Being Given to Hospitals and Patients?

The government has given permission to hospitals, nursing homes and COVID-19 centres to accept more than ₹2 lakh from patients from 1 April 2021 to 31 May 2022 provided the PAN or Aadhar Card number of the payer is submitted. If the payment was made by someone else, details about their relationship with the patient are required.

Have Filing Dates Been Extended?

No, there is no extension of the last date of return filing. The due date for income tax returns filing FY 2023-24 for Individuals was 31 July.

Moreover, The deadline for filing revised or belated returns is 31 December 2024. For taxpayers who need to have their accounts audited, the deadline is 31 October. The last date for employers to deliver Form 16 was July 15.