Things to be done after filing Income Tax Return

Income Tax Return (ITR) filing season for AY 2023-24 (FY 2022-23) has just ended on 31^st July, 2023. Hope you have filed your ITR well on time.

We have already discussed in the previous blog about how to prepare your Income Tax File before filing the ITR. Now in this blog, we will discuss about how to complete your Income Tax File. Following are the important things to be done after filing the ITR:

(1) First and foremost, you have to make sure that your ITR has been e-verified. The ITR has to be e-verified within 30 days from the date of uploading. Please note that there is a difference between uploading the ITR and filing it. The ITR which is uploaded within the due date but not e-verified within the stipulated time limit, will be considered as invalid. The ITR will not be processed until it is e-verified. E-verification is mandatory to complete the process of filing of ITR.

(2) You can e-verify the ITR through OTP received on mobile number registered with Aadhaar, using Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) or by generating Electronic Verification Code (EVC) through net banking, bank account or Demat account. If you cannot e-verify your ITR using any of these options, you have to sign the acknowledgement and send it to the address mentioned therein to CPC through speed post.

(3) If you have claimed refund in your ITR, please confirm that the bank account mentioned in the ITR as refund account is nominated for refund on the e-filing portal of income tax also. If this step is not done, then you may not get the refund in your bank account.

(4) The next step is related processing of ITR. Once your ITR will be processed, you will get an email from the Centralized Processing Centre (CPC) of the Income Tax department. The document attached in this mail is technically called intimation u/s 143(1) and it contains the comparison of the data submitted by you in your ITR and data considered by the CPC, and indicates the variations found, if any. You should go through the entire document and consult a Chartered Accountant (CA) immediately, if any discrepancy is noticed.

(5) In some cases, where some initial differences are found while processing the ITR, you may receive an initial notice for adjustment u/s 143(1)(a), before getting the final intimation u/s 143(1), as mentioned in the point no. (3) above. In this case also, you should immediately contact a Chartered Accountant (CA).

(6) Please note that the processing of ITR is slightly technical and complicated matter and the replies to the above notices are to be submitted online, so it is advisable to consult a CA immediately once you receive any such communications from the Income Tax Department.

(7) Please keep on checking your email id provided in your profile with the Income Tax portal and the email id mentioned in the ITR also, because almost all the communications from the CPC or Income Tax Department will be received through email only.

(8) Ask for the following documents from your CA who has filed your ITR, take print outs of them and keep them in your ITR file to complete your records:

- Acknowledgement of ITR filed

- Statement of Total Income / Computation of Income prepared by your CA

- Income Tax Return Form

- Form 26AS

- Annual Information Statement (AIS)

Last but not the least, if you have missed the due date of 31^st July, 2023 for filing ITR, you can still file your ITR on or before 31^st December, 2023. Please note that after 31^st December, 2023, you will not be able to file your ITR.