E-filing of Income-tax return is nothing but filing your Income-tax return online. As per the latest announcement by the income tax department, at present income tax returns can be filed through the online method only. However, the super senior citizens who are filing ITR 1 or ITR 4 are allowed to use the offline paper mode.

Every Indian including an NRI is required to file an Income tax return where Total Income exceeds the basic exemption limit of Rs. 2,50,000 for an individual; Rs. 3,00,000 in case of the senior citizen and Rs. 5,00,000 in case of the super senior citizen.

Total Income comprises income from all sources i.e. income from salary, house property, business income, capital gains or any other taxable income. This limit is to be checked before giving the benefit of deductions like 80C,80D, 80DDB etc. You are required to file a return irrespective of whether you have paid tax or not. So, even if the employer has deducted TDS in full you are still required to file an income tax return.

You can file a belated return 3 months prior to the end of the Assessment Year, i.e., for FY 2021-22 (AY 2022-23) it is 31st December 2022. A belated return can only be filed with the payment of late fees u/s 234F. For FY 2021-22, the date of filing a belated return is 31st December 2022.

Following are the consequences if you do not file your Income Tax Return on or before the due date:- non-filing of ITR. Some of them are:

• You can not carry forward the losses from your business.
• Lose Interest on refunds.
• Pay Interest under section 234A @ 1% per month for late filing of return.
• Late filing fee u/s 234F up to Rs. 5000 depending upon taxable income and date of return filing will be levied.
• You may receive the Notice from the Income Tax Department.

Income Tax online filing is a simple process and can be done by sitting at home for free with IBG.

• Step 1: Visit www.indiabizguru.com website. Here, click on the option “File ITR Now”.
• Step 2: Here Select your source of Income and click on continue.
• Step 3: If you’re a salaried individual, Just Upload your Form 16. If you do not have any form 16 then you can simply skip the option and move further.
• Step 4: Enter the Financial Year, PAN & Aadhaar details and other basic details like your Employment Details, Deductions(If Any), bank details. After giving the details of all the information
• Step 5: Review your tax computation and click on the “File My ITR” button.

The procedure to e-file return with form-16 is as follows:

• Step 1: Choose “File It Yourself” and click on the “File ITR Now” option at indiabizguru.com and upload your Form 16

Yes, you can still e-file your Income Tax Return even if you do not have form 16 with you. You need to fill in the required details in the software and submit the ITR at the end.

Once you are done with e-filing of income tax return, you must:-

• Check your inbox of eMail-id as provided in your income tax return form, You will receive an intimation for successful filing of your Income Tax Return, along with ITR-V (Acknowledgement) attached with eMail.
• Cross Check all figures thoroughly in your filled ITR form or ITR-V for any error, mistake etc
• Verify the Income-tax return by sending a physical copy to CPC Bangalore or you can e-Verify online. Once the return has been successfully Verified, the return filing procedure ends here. And now your job is done.
• In case you have a refund in your tax return you shall receive the same in your bank account within the next few days. It is better to keep tracking your refund status so that you do not miss out on any important updates from the department. You can keep checking the refund status from here

Note: Verification of an ITR is an important step without which your return filing process is not completed. within the time limit (120 days) you have not verified your tax return, it shall be considered as “Invalidated” i.e. null and void. It means that no Income Tax> Return has been filed at all