Quick Refunds to Pre-Filled Forms: 5 Plans For 2020 Tax Payers Need To Know

If you are a tax-paying citizen, then this article will be useful for you. We list out a few changes that are likely to be implemented by 2020.

With the number of new income tax filers increasing by nearly a crore in 2017-18, the new changes are sure to make the process easier and more transparent.

Things to know:

1. By 2020, the income tax filing system will be handled by IT giant Infosys and not the government. This is likely to streamline the entire process, making it more efficient. You might remember a similar overhaul that the passport centres across the country received a few years ago.

2. Refunds are usually issued after a long scrutiny process, which currently takes about 63 days. With the new process, this would reduce to one day. The money will directly be credited into the taxpayer’s bank account upon verification.

3. With the new system, taxpayers will get pre-filled forms in their income-tax accounts with their name, Permanent Account Number (PAN), and other relevant details. The salary column and tax deducted will also be mentioned, and the taxpayer will be able to edit and add details of other income to it.

4. With Infosys getting this contract from the government after bidding for it, the system will take about 18 months to be fully implemented. Parts of it may be rolled out this year to ensure that there are no glitches in the system.

5. The idea behind these changes is to promote voluntary compliance by making the system easy for taxpayers.

Amit Maheshwari, Partner, Ashok Maheshwary & Associates LLP, a Delhi-based chartered accountancy firm, told The Mint, “Under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, the tax department is authorised to impose penalties either when the assessee defaults on payment of taxes or when she underreports or misreports income while filing of the return of income.”

To avoid being penalised, do keep track of all important dates and file your taxes well within the period.

Industry experts have lauded this effort by the government and say that it will ease the burden on the taxpayer as well as the authorities. Like everything, we will have to wait and watch how well the changes are received.

Also Read: Meet the Puducherry Doctor Who Made Filing Income Tax Filing Online Trans-Friendly

(Edited by Shruti Singhal)

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