The government has now made electronic filing of returns mandatory for taxpayers with a taxable income above Rs 5 lakh. Taxpayers with annual income of over 5 lakh will now have to file their returns in electronic form online.
Last year government has made the e-filing of returns compulsory for taxpayers with a taxable income above Rs 10 lakh.
DON’t PANIC
Electronic e-filing of returns is easy.
For filing the return online, having Digital Signature is NOT Compulsory. Returns can be filed with or without digital signature.
In case the returns are filed with digital signature, no further action is required. In case returns are filed without using a digital signature, tax payer needs to send ITR-V (Acknowledgement) to the Income Tax department.
IMPORTANT Note – Total Income is NOT equal to your CTC / salary package. Your salary package may be Rs 6 lakhs, but after taking HRA, LTA, Medical into account, your Total taxable Income (under Income Tax Act) may be lower. In such cases, it is NOT compulsory to file IT returns online.
The processing for e-filed return is faster and taxpayers get their refunds, if due, quickly. The Income Tax Department also provides some value added services like tracking of refunds, viewing tax credit status, e-mail and SMS alerts regarding status of processing and refunds to taxpayers who e-file their returns.
If your Gross Total Income (before considering deduction under Chapter VI for e.g 80C ) is more than Rs 5 lakh, you need to file return online.