Monday, 23 June 2014

Mandatory One Mobile Number or One Email ID for ITR e-filing Login Account

Income-Tax Department has issued a Press Release regarding contact details (Mobile number & E-mail ID) for Taxpayee on e-Filing Login Account. It is mandatory that all tax payers must have a valid contact details i.e. one mobile number or one email address registered in e-Filing portal. The Press Released is as under:

Press release
Dated 19.06.14

One mobile number or email ID can be used for a maximum of 4 user accounts as the Primary Contact- Mobile Number and Email ID in e-Filing. This is to ensure that family members (not exceeding 4 separate users) not having personal email or mobile can be covered under a common email or mobile, but in general taxpayers should have their own unique email ID and Mobile registered with the Department. Considering the very low availability of Internet Facility in India especially in villages and smaller cities the move is the one which is not appreciated by tax professionals. Some of the professionals has also demanded that Limit of 4 registrations against a mobile number/email registration must be removed immediately. One more practical difficulty may be in registration of Non-Residents, who do not have mobile facility in India. It is knot known, if they can register with foreign mobile number. One of our reader Mr. Vijay K. Malik said that ” It is not possible for ordinary person like chai walla, paan walla, small shop keepers to have their personal email id. This type of procedural hurdle will create more trouble for tax consultants, they have to create email id for their clients on their names, which seems to be more illegal to crate this type of email id. Income Tax Department has to think from this angle also. “ CA V Swaminathan commented that ” The newly announced procedure for bringing on IT Record the particulars for communication to taxpayers is prima facie cumbersome and spells additional hassle. Further,more importantly, it does not seem to talk about updating of physical ‘address’. As suggested before,in consideration of ‘balance of convenience’ , by having suitable changes made in the department’s computerized system itself, the said address may be updated on the basis of the address/changed address as filled in / reported, in the tax return lastly filed and on its record.” In our opinion government move is with good intentions but been made without considering the ground realities, which needs a reconsideration. 

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