E-filing of Income Tax Return In India – FY 2014-15 (AY 2015-16)-No Need To Send Signed ITR V To CPC

Presently, in the e-filing of ITR process, post submission of ITR on Income Tax Website, there is a need of sending ITR V (duly signed by the assesse) to the Central Processing Centre Bangaluru (CPC) within 120 days of online submission of ITR. However, now the IT Department has provided a new mechanism i.e. ‘Electronic Verification Code’ (‘EVC’), where there will be no need to send ITR V to CPC. Hereunder is, the process, how the same can be done.

A. Verification of person via EVC
EVC means a code will be generated for the purpose of electronic verification of the person furnishing the return of income. EVC will be a unique number linked to assessee’s PAN. It cannot be used for filing return of income of any other PAN. One EVC can be used to validate one return, irrespective, of assessment year or type of return. EVC generated via Adhaar Card will be valid only for 10 minutes and in any other case, it will be valid for 72 hours.

B. Who cannot file return via EVC?

  • Persons, whose accounts are required to be audited under Section 44AB;
  • Political parties filing their return of income in ITR-7; and
  • Companies.

C. Modes of generating EVC
There are four modes, which the tax payer can choose to generate an EVC, as specified hereunder:

  1. Using Aadhaar Number : Taxpayers can link their Aadhaar Number with their PAN on e-filing website to generate the EVC. Aadhaar Number can only be linked if the PAN database (i.e., name, DOB and gender) are similar to data available with UIDAI for his Aadhaar number.
    Once the Aadhaar Number is linked to PAN, ‘one time password’ (‘OTP’) will be generated by UIDAI and sent to the taxpayer’s mobile number registered with UIDAI. This Aadhaar based OTP will be the EVC and can be used to verify the income-tax return.
  2. Using Net-Banking: Banks, which are registered with Income-tax Dept., are providing direct access to the e-filing website to their account holders. By clicking on e-filing option account holder will be redirected to the e-filing website where he/she can generate an EVC using the “e-File” menu. EVC generated will be sent to the registered e-mail id and mobile number of taxpayer, which can be used to verify income-tax return.
  3. Using ATM: All taxpayers can generate EVC through ATM only if ATM card of taxpayer is linked to PAN validated bank account and bank is also registered with the Income-tax department. Taxpayer can access ATM of registered bank using his Debit/Creditcard andthereafter he/she needs to selectoption of “Generate EVC for Income Tax Return Filing” on ATM screen. The bank will communicate this request to e-filing website which will generate EVC and send the EVC to assessee on his registered mobile number.
  4. Using E-filing Website of Income-tax Dept.: Assessee can also generate EVC by using e-filing website of Income-tax Dept.www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. However, this facility is available only to those assesses, whose total income is Rs. 5 Lakhs or below and who are not claiming Income-tax refund. To use this facility, assessee can visit the e-filing website and select the option ‘Generate EVC’ from e-File menu. EVC generated will be sent to the registered email ID and mobile number.

This article is useful and relevant for all ITR filers in India i.e NRIs, Expatriates and All Other ITR Filers. It also clarifies various general doubts & frequently asked questions of ITR Filers, such as:

  • How can I complete my e-filing of ITR without a hassle of sending ITR V to CPC?
  • What are the new useful needful to know in relation to ITR Filing of FY 2014-15 (i.e. AY 15-16)?
  • If am residing abroad, how can I save my cost of sending ITR V to CPC wrr my Indian ITR?
  • So, finally an ITR can be filed without a need of sending ITR V to Income Tax Department?
  • So, now the ITR processing shall be faster if an Income Tax Return is filed using EVC.