ITR filing for FY 2019-20: 5 days left, ‘Don’t click on fake links,’ alerts income tax department

The last date to file income tax return for financial year 2019-200 (assessment year 2020-21) is December 31, as the deadline this year got extended owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Failing to file the returns, one has to pay a penalty of a minimum of 50 per cent or a maximum of 200 percent of the assessed tax. Imprisonment of up to seven years is also a penal provision.

With only five days left for the deadline, there is now a rush to file ITR. Alerting taxpayers, the income tax department has said that it does not request detailed personal information through e-mail. It does not send e-mail requesting your PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.

What to do if you receive an e-mail from someone claiming to be the authorized by Income Tax Department or directing you to an Income Tax website:

1. Do not reply.

2. Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that will infect your computer.

3. Do not click on any links. If you clicked on links in a suspicious e-mail or phishing website then do not enter confidential information like bank account, credit card details.

4. Do not cut and paste the link from the message into your browsers, phishers can make link look like real, but it actually send you to different websites.

5. Use anti-virus software, anti spyware, and a firewall and keep them updated. Some phishing e-mails contain software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the internet without your knowledge. Anti-virus and Anti-spyware software and firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such unwanted files.

How to report such fake mails:

1. If you receive an e-mail or find a website you think is pretending to be of Income Tax Department, forward the e-mail or website URL to [email protected]. A copy may also be forwarded to [email protected]

2. You may forward the message as received or provide the Internet header of the e-mail. The Internet header has additional information to help us locate the sender.

3. After you forward the e-mail or header information to us, delete the message.

4. If you receive a phishing mail not pertaining to the Income Tax Department, forward the same to [email protected]

How to file ITR

1. Log on to the official website of Income Tax e-filing – incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.

2. Click on New to e-filing if you are registering for the first time, else click on the registered user.

3. Select the User type.

4. Enter your PAN card detail, surname, middle name, first name, date of birth and residential status.

5. Fill the registration form.

6. Verify registration.

7. After successfully registering log in and file your return, providing all the relevant documents in the correct format.

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