IT Return E-Filing Return Preparation Utility bug fixes & ITR-V Password

Its that time of the year where you keep looking for your Form 16, Investment details & what not. Thats because 31-Jul-09 is the last date for submitting your IT returns.

For those who would like to submit IT returns on their own (like me :-) without consulting a CA & use e-Filing, this post would be of some help.

I have written this post specifically dedicated to ITR-2 returns. There are some minor bugs in the ITR-2 Return Preparation Utility which are worth mentioning.

1. There are many cells with embedded formular which do not auto-populate. Take the example of Cell#J88 in sheet "PARTB - TI - TTI". Though it it supposed to automatically display the total Salary which you enter in "Schedule S", it sometimes shows "0" if all details like "Name of Employer", "PAN of employer (optional)", etc. are left blank. The workaround is to enter any non-blank value & then delete it. Though the fields are not expected to be left blank, but its a general human tendency that during rough work one doesn't fill in all details. Similarly there is the same problem at Cell#J44 in the sheet "HOUSE_PROPERTY", which shows "0" even after you have entered all relevant values.
2. Sometimes many formulas don't work & the workaround for this is to use last years Return Preparation Utility & use the "Import Previous Version" option in the sheet "PART A GENERAL". I would always suggest to use the import option if there has been no change in your residential address. Because the address line doesn't accept few special characters, which you might have correctly entered last year.
3. This years ITR-V (acknowledgment after you submit the return) PDF file comes in a zipped format. The PDF is also password protected. The PASSWORD is your PAN Number followed by your Date of Birth in the format mmddyyy, all in lower case (eg, aaser2131g31121970). After you generate the XML file & upload your return, the success screen has practically no information on the password. I downloaded the file & could not open the file as it was password protected. I then traced out the same by visiting the section My Account -> My Return on the Income Tax E-Filing Portal .
4. This year there has been a significant change in E-Filing for people who don't have a Digital Certificate. Rather than carrying the ITR-V printout to the Income Tax Office to receive a stamped acknowledgment, you need to just sign on the ITR-V printout & send it via ORDINARY POST (COURIER & REGISTERED POST NOT ACCEPTED) to -
INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT - CPC
POST BAG NO. - 1
ELECTRONIC CITY POST OFFICE
BANGALORE - 560 100
KARNATAKA

I hope this information would be of some help to the E-Filers :-)

No comments: