Go for E-filing to Avoid the Last-minute Rush

Filing income-tax returns has never been this easy. The income-tax department now allows electronic submission of returns and nearly 22 lakh tax payers have taken this route in 2007-08. The number is all set to multiply. On date, around four-crore tax payers file returns every year either manually or electronically.
Gone are the days when you would jostle in serpentine queues for submitting your tax returns. More and more assesses are now exploring the e-route. Take the case of Abhisek Ghosh (name changed) who hasn’t filed his IT returns for the past several years but plans to use the electronic option this year. “I didn’t know about the electronic option. For the past few years, I did plan to submit returns well in advance, but it just didn’t happen. I eventually ended up not filing my returns. The process has so far been too cumbersome. But with e-route now available, I will certainly avail this option,” says Abhisek.
What’s more, you may not need to file your returns during your regular office hours. Sample this. Over six lakh assesses have filed their returns after the regular office hours. They accounted for a good 27% tax assesses, who had opted for the electronic system.
To make the process even simpler, the income-tax department is ready to accept returns without any digital signature. In such a scenario, on successful uploading of e-return, an ITR-V form would be generated and you will need to keep a copy of this document. This is the acknowledgement-cum-verification form, where you have to fill-up the verification part and submit it to the local income-tax office. Only remember to submit the verification form within a fortnight of completing the e-filing part. In case the return is digitally signed, you will just need to take a print out of the acknowledgement for your record.
Even though the use of digital signature is optional, the IT department is upbeat with the progress so far. Some 2.47 lakh returns (11% of all e-filing of returns) have used digital signatures and thereby, made the process entirely paperless.
The government has first introduced this new age system in 2006-07 and nearly 3.7 lakh returns were filed in the first year itself. However, according to official records, just about 1% of IT returns were filed voluntarily. In 2007-08, the number increased to a handsome 22 lakh. Of these, around 14.5 lakh (66%) had been filed voluntarily by taxpayers. This is a clear indication of increasing acceptance for the electronic option.
So, forget all the pains of manual tax filing. Hook yourself to your PC and file your return at the drop of a hat. You have to only wait for your company to issue Form 16, which specifies the amount of the tax deducted during the financial year and other particulars prescribed under Rule 31 of the I-T Act, 1962.