Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 20

The existing income tax portal will be unavailable for six days — from June 1 to June 6 — as a prelude to the launch of a newer, mobile-friendly version from June 7, said a Finance Ministry statement.

It has advised taxpayers that they should complete urgent tasks involving submissions, uploads or downloads before June 1 to avoid any difficulty during the blackout period.

The new e-filing portal (www.incometax.gov.in) is aimed at providing taxpayer convenience and a modern, seamless experience, it added.

It will provide multiple payment options using net-banking, UPI, credit card and RTGS/NEFT from any account of the taxpayer in any bank.

Deadline FOR return now SEPTEMBER 30

• The government on Thursday extended the due date of filing income tax returns for 2020-21 for individuals by two months till September 30
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has also extended the ITR filing deadline for companies by a month till November 30

In order to avoid any inconvenience to taxpayers, the Department will not fix any compliance dates during this period.

The new portal is integrated, enabling immediate processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) to issue quick refunds. It will also display all interactions and uploads or pending actions on a single dashboard for follow-up action by the taxpayer.

Users, even without any tax knowledge, have been asked to use ITR preparation software, available online and offline, to effortlessly file their returns. The ministry is also planning to set up a new call centre to answer queries in this regard that will include a chatbot/live agent.

Further, directions have been issued to fix hearing of cases only from June 10 onwards, to give taxpayers time to respond on the new system. Any hearing or compliance during this period will be preponed or adjourned if it requires online submissions.

The I-T Department has already intimated banks who avail services of PAN verification about the non-availability of services and has asked them to ensure that their customers are informed about the blackout period.