New income tax e-filing website launched

Representational picture. Photo/iStock

The new e-filing website of the Income Tax Department was launched on Monday with a host of new features for taxpayers. The new URL https://incometax.gov.in replaced the long-existing https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in, and it went live at 8:45 pm, the tax department said in a tweet. While some users complained on social media that certain features were taking longer than usual to load in the new portal, others praised the new facilities.

Users and taxpayers will be able to use all the features smoothly very soon, a senior department officer said. "We proudly present to our valued taxpayers, the new e-filing portal. Designed with your convenience in mind, the portal offers features to make your e-filing experience smoother, simpler & smarter. You Come First, Always," the department said in a message posted on Twitter. It also thanked users for "being patient with us during our transition to the new e-filing portal".

"The e-filing 2.0 went live at 8:45pm today and represents an important milestone in our constant endeavour to make the compliance experience more taxpayer friendly," the tax department said. The home page of the new website said the "e-filing 2.0" is an "all new portal with features that make e-filing easier for you!"

Also Read: Income Tax Department to launch new e-filing portal for taxpayers on June 7

"The portal has been developed as a mission mode project under the national e-governance plan. "The objective of this portal is to provide a single window to the income tax related services for taxpayers and other stakeholders," it said. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which frames policies for the tax department, had on Saturday said while the new website will be launched on Monday, features like the online tax payment system and a mobile app will be activated only on June 18.

The new portal is integrated with immediate processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) to issue quick refunds to taxpayers, and all interactions and uploads or pending actions will be displayed on a single dashboard for follow-up action by the taxpayer, the CBDT had said about the latest website. It will also have a free ITR preparation software with interactive questions to help taxpayers file ITRs 1, 4 (online and offline) and ITR 2 (offline) to begin with, and the facility for preparation of ITRs 3, 5, 6 and 7 will be made available shortly, the department had said in a statement.

Taxpayers will be able to proactively update their profile to provide certain details of their income, including salary, house property and business/profession, which will be used in pre-filling their ITR in the new web portal. Detailed enablement of pre-filling with salary income, interest, dividend and capital gains will be available after TDS (tax deducted at source) and SFT (statement of financial transaction) statements are uploaded (due date June 30, 2021), it added.

A new call centre for taxpayer assistance is also planned, and the portal will have detailed FAQs, user manuals, videos and chatbot/live agent.Functionalities to fill income tax forms, add tax professionals and submit responses to notices in faceless scrutiny or appeals would be available, the CBDT had said.

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