The Income Tax department has in a phased manner made it mandatory for different categories of tax payers to file online tax returns over the past four years. Now it is mandatory for every individual also to file returns online. One would think that this saves paper, is eco-friendly and tax payer friendly as he now does not have to stand in an unending queue or be asked to go from one department office to another to file his tax return. It’s as simple as logging into https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/portal, logging in and uploading your tax return – well that’s what you thought. Till last year that is what was required of a tax payer, and the printed signed copy needed to be filed with the Income Tax Department in the ward of the assessee in his city of residence. The tax payer could get a copy of the acknowledgement stamped for hi/her record, which everyone concerned was now comfortable with. Guess what? New rules have been framed – which makes filing of your tax returns a tad more difficult.
It is now mandatory for you to file your tax returns after having the tax payer digitally signs the same! Can you imagine the shop keepers and various sundry small businessmen getting digital signatures at a cost of Rs. 1500 odd! I think all these rules are framed so that someone makes money on the side rather than to make life easy for the common man! Just imagine the amount the certifying authorities stands to make if all the 54 million PAN card holders are asked to get digital signatures. The actual tax payers as per latest available RTI data is 31.5 million, lets say 5 million already have digital signatures, that leaves you a potential market of Rs. 39750 crores for digital signature – some politician is getting to get a massive kick back for sure. Just 10% will constitute huge numbers!
Let’s get back to the problem on hand – the new rules specify that if you do not file your returns by affixing digital signature, then the ITR-V form generated after e-filing has to be printed, filled in and signed before being mailed to Bangalore (Income Tax Department, CPC, Post Box No 1, Electronic City Post Office, Bangalore560100, Karnataka). Before the rule change, the ITR-V form had to be submitted to the income-tax office in the taxpayer's city. Just imagine! Bangalore! Looks like the department thinks that every tax payer in the country stays in Bangalore! By mailing or couriering the hard copy to Bangalore, there is no real proof with the tax payer that the department has actually received the copy! The department has clarified that the a printed, signed copy of the e-return filed along with the courier receipt would constitute proof of the return having been filed! Can you imagine – instead of setting at ease the minds of the tax payers, the new rules will end up as a cause for worry with each person who files his e-return without a digital signature and mails the proof to the Bangalore office having to worry whether the returns have actually been taken on record. As the assessee can still file physical copies of the return in the city of residence, the only safe and viable option would be to file a physical return, instead of an e-return – we would be back to the good old days.
If the department wanted to be tax payer friendly a better solution would have been for the IT department to consider the electronically filed return as the final return, with the signed copy being used for verification.
The downside of sending returns to Bangalore are too many to be enumerated – the courier could lose the return, the courier could deliver the return, but the department may not file it appropriately, any number of things could happen – the end result of which would be that the department starts sending notices to people who have filed returns to submit copies of their return again! This has happened umpteen times in the past, continues to happen with the e-TDS returns, and we will now most likely end up facing this new nightmare. Jai Ho to all tax payers! Fasten your seat belts and get ready to go on another nightmarish ride!
CAclubindia
