The filing of the IT returns electronically has been made mandatory by the CBDT for those individuals with an annual income of Rs. 10 lakh or above. E-filing was introduced a few years back, but just the small tax payers and salaried individuals were using it successfully.

There were certain misconceptions about the e-filing that it is a cumbersome process and that e-filing has more probability of picking up scrutiny which has been cleared with experience. This year the e-filing has been made mandatory for the individuals.

The new process is now becoming a preferred mode for all class of income tax payers. There are also certain changes in the tax filing rules some of which might have a significant impact on the information which has been disclosed.

Income tax e-returns can be filed by downloading the required ITR form from the website. Read the instruction manual carefully. If the individual has an income from salary, pension or rental income from property then the ITR 1 Sahaj has to be filled up. When filing online, the individual has to provide bank account details. Taxpayers who file returns before July 31st enjoys some privileges or else the ITR can also be filed up to 31st of March next year.