Offline bit in online income tax filing to end

The one major irritant in online filing of income tax returns may be eliminated this year. This is the offline process at the end of the online one, where you need to take a printout of what is called the ITR-V form, sign it, and mail it to the I-T department's centralized processing centre (CPC) in Bangalore. Krishna Rao, who has just taken over as the I-T commissioner of the CPC, said the law and information technology ministries were examining the matter, and he was hopeful a solution would emerge soon. It's still not clear though if the new system would be in place by June-July , when the bulk of individual filings happen. In the last fiscal, 1.65 crore returns were filed online, but ITR-V forms of as many as 25 lakh people were not received by the CPC. Many forget to send the forms in the stipulated 120 days; in some cases, these get lost in the post. The I-T authorities need to be absolutely certain about the identity of the person filing the form, which is why it currently mandates a physical signature.