With a view to establishing a direct communication with the taxpayers, the Income Tax Department has instructed those filing their I-T returns this year to share their email ID and mobile phone number with the department.
Seeking cooperation of all taxpayers, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the administrative authority of the Income Tax Department, has introduced a new column in the I-T returns forms asking for the tax filers’ personal email-ID and mobile number.
The step will ensure smooth and convenient return filing process, an I-T officer said, adding, “The new step has been taken in order to communicate directly with the taxpayer with regard to any issues arising after the returns are filed. This is a step taken to communicate better with the taxpayer and smoothen the process of ensuring timely refunds.”
Till now, the taxpayers had to mention similar details of their CAs or tax filing helpers in the existing column asking for personal details of the filer.
In case, a taxpayer changes his CA or is not in touch with him, it was found, any communication made by the I-T to the taxpayer used to languish without reaching the desired person.
The department, which is facing issues of pending refunds and ensuring other tax-related information to the taxpayer, has designed the new I-T forms so that in case of emergency a tax officer could directly get in touch with the individual tax filer.
The new measures have been implemented both for e-filers and manual filers of I-T returns.