Everything About the New Income Tax Portal 2.0

You may have come across the above message when you log in to the existing income tax portal. The Income Tax Department announced to make changes in the current portal to make return filing easy, faster, and most importantly, user-friendly. The existing portal had its limitations. With this announcement, the Department is coming up with an all-new return filing portal that will bring more transparency and reliability than before. The existing portal will remain under maintenance until June 6, 2021, and from June 7, 2021, the Department will make the new portal live. 

The article lists out the changes that will take place from June 7, 2021, on the new income tax portal. 

E-Filing Portal 2.0

In its circular, the Income Tax Department announced that they would launch a brand new e-filing portal, and taxpayers can access the portal by visiting https://www.incometax.gov.in/. Earlier the website address was http://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/home which has been shortened and made quick to type in the address bar and easily access the portal.

E-Filing Mobile App

The new portal is also made available through a mobile app. The app will enable the taxpayers to use all the functions to file income tax returns, make tax payments, submit answers to the queries raised, and many more. 

The significant benefit of using the mobile app is that they can access the portal from anywhere, anytime, and perform necessary activities all by themselves. They do not need to rush to their tax consultant’s office for every small query. 

One Dashboard 

The new portal provides a more interactive dashboard to check all the necessary information on the single dashboard itself. It means they do not need to go through different tabs to perform various activities. 

The new dashboard will incorporate all transaction details, uploads, and communications with the department in one dashboard only for quick and easy access by the user. 

More Effective Options for Tax Payment

The existing portal allowed tax payment only through visiting a bank branch or net banking or debit cards of limited banks only. The new e-filing portal 2.0 offers various methods to e-pay the tax online without having to visit the branch or ask your tax consultant to pay on your behalf. 

The most attractive feature the portal has enabled is that it will allow taxpayers to pay tax using UPI and credit cards. Apart from these, the portal also provides tax payments through net banking and RTGS/NEFT methods. 

Quick Refunds

The new portal is expected to reduce the time taxpayers wait to get the refund amount. Due to the ease of access and more interactive features of the portal, the Department expects to pay the refunds quickly than before. 

User Manuals Including Video Tutorials

The new portal will be live from June 7, 2021, and the Department will release the user manuals on how to operate and make the most of the new e-filing portal. The Department will also provide video tutorials on how to use the services of the new portal effectively. It is a welcoming move by the Department.

More Active Customer Care Center 

Using Chatbots, FAQs, Video Tutorials, and many such methods, the new portal will aggressively solve queries raised by the taxpayers. The Department actively works to set up a new dedicated Customer Care Center to answer the taxpayers’ questions quickly and effectively. 

Closing Thoughts

The new income tax e-filing portal changes indeed look welcoming and a great move by the Income Tax Department. However, we can see its effectiveness once it is launched on June 7, 2021.