Many file Income Tax returns on last day

Bengaluru: People queued up to file their Income Tax (IT) returns for 2017-18 at various IT office branches in the city as Friday was the last day. The response was huge and there is a rise in people turning up to file the returns every year, IT officials said.

At the IT office in BMTC bus depot in Koramangala, they had set up facilitation counters which witnessed people lining up since morning, where the IT officials helped the assessees and answered their queries.

An official, who did not want to be named, said, “We see an increase in the number of people filing returns every year. Most of them do it online themselves as it is easy, while many take the help of others like the auditors and officials working in the IT departments and complete the process online. We have been getting calls and people have been visiting the facilitation counters for the past two weeks to enquire about filing the returns. The response has been overwhelming.”

Mr Praveen K., a practising chartered accountant, said that August 31 is the last day for individuals to file the returns, while September 30 is the last day for businesses. “For the last one week, every day on an average, we are filing around 350 returns. Most of the returns we file are of individuals who have multiple incomes. People with single or salaried income do it by themselves as several methods to file the returns are available online,” he said.

He said that people have become responsible and know the importance of filing the returns. Earlier, filing returns was taken lightly. “The government has done a great job in creating awareness and also people do not want to pay the penalties for late filing or have to run around to IT offices when they receive notices. People should realise that it is a valid proof to show that you’re the resident of the country. Even to get a visa to travel abroad, an individual should produce three-year IT returns. Now, everything is online, so the process is easy and simplified.”