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 Individual including an NRI is required to file an Income tax return where Gross 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 and profession, 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.

Filing of return is mandatory in the following cases even if gross total income does not exceeds basic exemption limit:

• Deposited an amount or aggregate of the amount over Rs.1 crore in one or more current accounts maintained with a bank or a co-operative bank.
• Incurred an aggregate expenditure of over Rs.2 lakh for yourself or any other person traveling to a foreign country.
• Incurred aggregate expenditure over Rs.1 lakh towards payment of electricity bill.
• Who has sales turnover of Rs 60 lakh and above during the year.
• Having professional income exceeding Rs 10 lakh during the year.
• TDS or TCS exceeds Rs 25,000 during the year.
• Account deposited at least Rs 50 lakh in one or more saving accounts during the year.

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.

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 and under certain heads.
• Lose Interest on refunds.
• Pay Interest under section 234A @ 1% per month or part thereof for late filing of return on the outstanding tax liability.
• 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 ERR & Associates.

• Step 1: Visit the ERR & Associates 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 ERR & Associates and upload your Form 16.
• Step 2: After uploading form 16, ERR & Associates software will auto-fill the Form 16 data. 
• Step 3: Verify your tax computation now and edit if required.
• Step 4: Click the “FILE MY RETURN” button and you are done!.

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. The time limit for e verification is (30 days) if return is e-filed on or after 1st Aug 2022 and 120 days if return is e-filed upto 31st July 2022. If you have not verified your tax return, it shall be considered as “Invalid” i.e. null and void. It means that no Income Tax Return has been filed at all.