Since filing your taxes is a time-consuming procedure, it should be well prepared. Even though the Income Tax Return (ITR) filing date was July 31, merely filing the reports is insufficient. It is important to emphasize that filing an income tax return (ITR) is not the only step in the procedure. Completing the filing process and making sure the Income Tax Department accepts the ITR depend heavily on its verification. The government has implemented a number of initiatives to streamline and accelerate the ITR verification procedure. The purpose of these actions is to improve tax filing accuracy and efficiency.

"The process of e-verification is important to commence the processing of ITRs and to issue refunds, if any," the Press Information Bureau said. Over 6.21 crore ITRs have been e-verified, with over 5.81 crore of them using Aadhaar-based OTP (93.56%), which is positive. Up to July 31, 2024, over 2.69 crore e-verified ITRs for the A.Y. 2024–2025 have been processed (43.34%). In addition, taxpayers must confirm any unconfirmed ITRs they may have within 30 days of submitting the ITR."

30-day Deadline

The window of opportunity to e-verify your ITR was 129 days prior to August 1, 2022. The Income Tax Department published a notice in August 2022 shortening the deadline for e-verification or hard copy ITR-V filing to 30 days. In order to effectively finish the procedure, taxpayers must now check their returns within 30 days of the date of filing.

The notification said that returns received electronically before August 1, 2022, the notification's implementation date, will still be subject to the former 120-day period.

The date of electronically sending the data shall be regarded as the date of providing the income tax return if the income tax return (ITR) is submitted electronically and the ITR-V is filed within 30 days of the transmission.

What happens if the 30-day deadline passes?

The date of e-verification or ITR-V submission is regarded as the date of providing the income tax return in cases where the ITR data is electronically transferred but the e-verification or ITR-V submission is made after the 30-day period has passed from the data transmission. As a result, the Income Tax Act's penalties for late filing will all apply.

If you filed your Income Tax Return for Assessment Year 2024-25 (Financial Year 2023-24) on or before July 31, 2024, make sure to validate it within 30 days after filing. Failure to complete the verification within the specified time limit, or after July 31, 2024, would result in a Rs 5,000 penalty under Section 234F. The verification date will be recognized as the filing date by the income tax department. Furthermore, if your filed ITR is not processed, no possible income tax refund will be granted, and it will be deemed that you did not file your Income Tax Return.

Condonation Request

If you do not validate your return in a timely way, it will be regarded not filed, resulting in fines and late fees under the Income Tax Act of 1961. If you are unable to verify, you may request a delay condonation by citing a good explanation. The e-Verification procedure can only be completed after filing this condonation request, and your return is only considered genuine once it has been authorized by the relevant Income Tax Authority.

How to Go About E-Verification

The Aadhaar OTP (One-Time Password) is a unique code created from the taxpayer's Aadhaar number and transmitted to their specified cellphone number. By entering this OTP into the income tax system, the verification of their return is finished quickly.

Another way to verify is via an Electronic Verification Code (EVC). An EVC can be created from a pre-validated bank or DEMAT account. The EVC is issued to the registered cellphone number and email address associated with the account, allowing users to e-verify their return with ease.

Net Banking is a simple solution for those who want to make transactions online. This service allows users to authenticate their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) using their bank accounts. Many significant Indian banks provide online banking services, allowing customers to swiftly and easily log in to their accounts and confirm their ITR.

A Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is particularly useful for organizations and people having audited accounts. A DSC increases the security of online transactions and is required for certain taxpayer types. It guarantees a safe and trustworthy verification procedure, providing consumers confidence when submitting sensitive financial documents.