E-filing of ITR: Over 7.5 lakh returns verified, 11 lakh Aadhaar linked

New Delhi: The Income Tax department's ambitious OTP-based ITR filing system for taxpayers has  tarted on a high note with its portal electronically   verifying over 7.5 lakh returns and linking over 11 lakh Aadhaar numbers with the PAN database. The new e-filing system, enabled last month, allows online verification of a person's Income Tax Returns (ITR) by  using either Aadhaar number, internet banking, ATM or email,   thereby ending the practice of sending paper acknowledgement   to its office in Bengaluru.  

An official data shows that in less than a month after   the facility was launched on the official portal of the department, it has electronically verified 7,53,677 ITRs while   Aadhaar linkages with the Permanent Account Number (PAN) has   been achieved in 11,46,581 cases. With the e-filing of ITRs to go on till August 31, it is   expected more numbers would be added and the e-verified   returns could easily go beyond 15 lakh. These are just   estimated figures being predicted and only sky is the limit in   this domain," a senior I-T officer said.   The online ITR filing portal of the department is   available at https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. 

According to the rules notified in this regard by the   Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on July 13, any taxpayer, whose income is Rs 5 lakh or below per annum and has no refund   claims, he or she can straightaway generate the 'Electronic   Verification Code' (EVC) for e-filing and validating their ITR   through their registered mobile number and e-mail id with the   department. However, this most simplified option, will be subject to certain "restrictions" which will be prepared by the taxman   based on the concerned taxpayer's "risk criteria and profile"  in a case-to-case basis.  

These new measures would completely eliminate the need of   sending the paper acknowledgement, called ITR-V, through post   to the I-T Central Processing Centre (CPC) based in Bengaluru. In the other options given, those taxpayers who have   internet banking activated can do the e-verification of their ITR.  Once logged in on the banking portal, the taxpayer will   be sent EVC to his mobile number provided in the official   e-filing web portal of the department which they will put in   their ITR?for final submission.  

The Aadhaar database is also being used by the taxman to   verify taxpayers' credentials. The department initiated these new technology measures in   order to fully automate the e-filing system and also to end   taxpayers' grievances with regard to their ITR-V not reaching   by post, which led to their ITR getting rejected.