PAN and e-Filing

. What Is PAN? Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a ten-digit alphanumeric number, issued in the form of a laminated card, by the Income Tax Department.

. Who must have a PAN? All existing assesses or taxpayers or persons who are required to furnish a return of income, even on behalf of others, must obtain PA . Any person, who intends to enter into financial transaction where quoting PAN is mandatory, must also obtain PAN. The Assessing Officer may allot PAN to any person either on his own or on a specific request from such person.

. What is e-Filing of Returns? Answer: Filing of Income Tax returns is a legal obligation of every person whose total income for the previous year has exceeded the maximum amount that is not chargeable for income tax under the provisions of the I.T Act, 1961. Income Tax Department has introduced a convenient way to file these returns online using the Internet. The process of electronically filing your Income tax returns through the Internet is known as e-filing of returns. How is e-Filing different from the regular filing of returns? Answer: E- filing offers convenience of time and place to tax payers. This facility is available round the clock and returns could be filed from any place in the world . It also eliminates/ reduces interface between assessee and tax officials. The procedure of e- filing is explained on the home page of the website. . Who can file returns On-line? Any individual or organization that files returns using the general method can take advantage of this facility. The pre-requisite for filing online is that you must have a valid PAN number. Direct E-filing is available for FORM NOs. ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-3, ITR-4, ITR-5, ITR-6 & ITR-8. . Can I use the same PAN for regular filing returns and E-Filing returns? Yes. What are the steps in brief to upload the tax returns on this website? Select appropriate type of Return Form. Fill your return offline and generate a XML file. Register and create a user id/password . Login and click on relevant form on left panel and select "Submit Return". Browse to select XML file and click on "Upload" button . On successful upload acknowledgement details would be displayed. Click on "Print" to generate printout of acknowledgement /ITR-V Form.