Income Tax ALERT! THIS category of people can file ITR in paper mode - check details here

The Income Tax Department had launched the new income tax returns (ITR) e-filing portal on June 7, 2021 - incometax.gov.in. The IT department claimed that this portal will provide an easier way of filing returns and tax payments by the taxpayers. However, one thing has to be remembered that there are certain old citizens who may not be technically well-versed. So, can they be exempted from filing their ITR through e-filing?

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According to the official website of Income Tax department, incometaxindia.gov.in, from assessment year 2019-20, a very senior citizen filing his return of income in Form ITR 1/4 can file his return of income in paper mode. This means that for him e-filing of ITR 1/4 (as the case may be) is not mandatory. However, he may go for e-filing if he wishes.

In this regard, one has to note the age criteria for senior and very senior citizens. Furthermore, before understanding the age criteria, it is very important to know that the tax benefits offered under the Income-tax Law to a senior citizen/very senior citizen are available only to resident senior citizen and resident very senior citizens.

One must note that a resident of India who is of 60 years or above but less than 80 years at any time during the respective year, is a senior citizen. On the other hand, a resident of India who is 80 years of above during any time of the respective year is a very senior citizen.

It must be noted with the launch of the new ITR e-filing portal 2.0, several new services and features have been introduced on the portal like enhanced help section with user manuals and videos, secure and multiple options for login, wizard-based assistance in ITR selection and pre-filed ITRs, Mobile App, Chatbot, easy to use ITR utility and role-based and user-friendly dashboard.

Though the new ITR e-filing portal was meant to make things easier for the taxpayers.  according to a PTI report on June 14, 2021, users complained of technical issues facing the site from the very first day and not everything has been fixed even after a week. The chartered accountants (CAs) said that the taxpayers are unable to view past e-filed returns and many features/ facilities continue to be marked 'coming soon'.

Due to these technical glitches, the Finance Ministry officials and Infosys, the vendor that provided this solution held a meeting today at 11 AM.

For more information, one is requested to login to the official website of the IT Department at incometaxindia.gov.in.