Paper trail in e-filing of IT returns to end. Aadhaar-based electronic verification code launched

In a major step aimed at easing taxpayer grievances, CBDT today announced that assessees filing I-T returns online will no longer have to send the paper acknowledgement by post as a new Aadhaar-based electronic verification code has been launched to authenticate this document.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy making body of the I-T department, has introduced a new column in the ITRs for 2015-16 where an e-filer can provide his Aadhaar number which will have to be authenticated on the official website of the department via a One Time Password (OTP).

"A new EVC, ie. Electronic Verification Code, has been included as the new mode to verify e-returns. The facility will soon be hosted on the website of the e-filing link of the department. The taxpayers no longer need to send the ITR-V paper document to the CPC in Bengaluru, thus ending the cumbersome process which was robbing the e-filing of its ease and fun," a senior I-T officer told PTI.

The procees, as explained by the officer, will require the e-filer to register his Aadhaar number in the ITR after which the UIDAI database will send an OTP to the registered mobile number of the taxpayer which subsequently will have to be authenticated on the e-filing website.

The I-T Systems Directorate, the officer said, is also in the process of validating net banking identity as the verifier of e-filed I-T returns "very soon."