Income Tax Returns:
Opting for the online route to file your income tax returns is cheap, convenient and as easy as learning the alphabet, says Namrata Dadwal.
1. Register with a tax-filing portal.It will help you choose the correct form and guide you while filling it.
2. Review the completed form and submit for e-filing . If you use a digital signature , the process is complete. If you don't want to spend on the signature, you'll get the ITR V acknowledgement by e-mail .
3. Print the ITR V and mail it to the Centralised Processing Centre at Bangalore . The address is: Income Tax Department— CPC, Post Box No. 1, Electronic City Post Office, Bangalore - 560100, Karnataka.
4. See , filing returns online is really as easy as A, B, C.... Even filling up the form through a tax-filing portal is a smooth process. The website explains each step and computes all the calculations , making the procedure a breeze even for newbies. All you need are the relevant documents, such as Form 16 from your employer, and then replicate the information in the portal. The only question that remains is, how should you choose a tax-filing portal?
5. The first step is to check whether the portal provides the form that you want. While most offer ITR 1 and ITR 2, few have the others. The next step is to see if the portal accounts for all the sections. For instance, a tax-filing site that we went through did not include the section on carrying forward losses from the previous years. This is a glaring fault because if you do not include such information in this year's return, you will not be able to do so next year. Most portals usually charge a fee only when you have to submit the returns, so you can go through these and choose the one in which the user interface is the smoothest. A good portal will prompt you to fill up a slot you have missed or ask you to rectify a mistake . This reduces the chances of making errors.
6. The third and most important step is to go through the site's security and privacy policy. "You must check that the portal encrypts the saved and transmitted data and is protected from hackers. Also, a good portal will not carry advertisements or use the client database to market other financial products, such as insurance ," says a senior official at Taxshax.com. To check the authenticity of the portal, you can access the list of ereturn intermediaries (ERI) on incometaxindiaefiling .gov.in. Once you have submitted your return, you will have to print the ITR V form and send it by post (either regular or speed post; registry or couriers are not allowed) to the CPC. The ITR V form should be printed in black ink only and signed personally in blue ink. It should not be folded and the bar code should be clearly visible.
7. In case you do not receive any intimation from the CPC within a month of mailing the form, it's possible that it could be lost in the post. In this case, you will have to mail another one, which can be done within 120 days of e-filing your return.
