With India becoming a digital-first nation, an increasing number of income tax return submissions are happening through e-filings. This trend has put the spotlight on E-return Intermediaries (ERI). An ERI is responsible for providing assistance to taxpayers in filing their income tax returns.
The income tax department introduced the option of income tax e-filing in 2007 to remove hiccups in the tax filing process. ERIs play a critical role in guiding taxpayers through the tax submission journey.
E-return intermediaries offer quite a few benefits, some of which are listed below:
- They help avoid errors, and inaccurate information while filing an ITR as the system highlights your mistakes to ensure proper income tax e-filing.
- Using an intermediary streamlines the tax filing process, saving you time.
- You get quicker refunds when you submit income tax e-filing through ERIs.
- They keep your tax information secure and confidential.
- ERIs are registered experts in the tax returns filing process.
Now that you understand the significance of e-return intermediaries in easing the process of income tax e-filing, let’s discuss the factors that you should consider when choosing an ERI for income tax e-filing.
Factors you must consider
Your ERI must have proper accreditation and authorization:
The first step in selecting an ERI is to check if they are recognized by the tax authorities and are authorized to make e-filing. An ERI must be authorizedauthorised by the Income Tax Department to be eligible to provide services to taxpayers. ERIs are required to meet the prescribed eligibility criteria and to adhere to the prescribed regulations. The Income Tax Department also maintains a register of all ERIs. Intermediaries that are accredited ensure adherence to necessary regulations and standards. This is important to make sure your income tax e-filing is reliable and compliant.
Prioritization of security measures
The process of income tax e-filing involves the submission of confidential information. This makes security a paramount consideration in choosing an ERI. An ideal ERI must prioritize security practices such as encryption protocols, secure data storage, and compliance with the relevant data protection regulations.
Facilitate enhanced platform experience
One essential requirement of income tax e-filing is a seamless digital experience. It begins with a user-friendly interface of the e-filing platform. A simple and intuitive UI will make the process easy and reduce the risk of errors. Guided filing journey and error notifications could make the journey even more powerful.
Offers all the necessary forms & options
Conduct a thorough assessment of the ERI to see if all the necessary forms are available for your income tax e-filing such as ITR, ITR-V, TDS, TCS, Form 16, Form 12BB, and Form 26AS. Verify if all the necessary options are available such as adjustments, deductions, and exemptions.. Additionally, you would need access to multiple filing options, so that you can pick the one that suits your tax liabilities.
Ability to import and store data from multiple sources
Income tax e-filing will require you to import data from multiple sources to fill out all the necessary forms. You might need salary details from payslips, investment information, and other financial data. Integration with diverse data sources saves your time and eliminates errors that stem from manual data entry. Not only that, an ERI must be able to store this data in a secure and easily accessible manner.
Must allow validation to avoid mistakes
Although it’s human to make errors, the application of technology must help in reducing such risks. Your ERI should help you minimize errors through inbuilt or programmable validation checks. This feature helps you identify errors or discrepancies in your filings so that you can make efficient submissions without delays. Validation ensures that your income tax e-filing is compliant with necessary regulations.
Must have responsive customer support
As a tax filer, you might require assistance in submitting income tax returns using ERI. Since it’s a timebound process, customer service must be highly responsive so that your every query or issue is addressed. Therefore you must evaluate the customer support that the platform provides including the different help lines like email, chat, or phone support.
Be up-to-date with compliance changes
Income tax officials update or reform tax laws regularly. Your intermediary must not only be aware of these changes but also implement them as a part of the income tax e-filing process. Additionally, ERIs must update users on the latest changes promptly so that they continue to be compliant with tax regulations.
ERI mustn’t be heavy on pocket
Your budget must factor in when deciding on an intermediary for income tax e-filing. Although there are a number of options available, you must pick the one that suits your requirements better. Avoid picking a platform that offers a range of features at elevated cost, which you may not use. Therefore assess ERI features against your requirements and budget to not go overboard.
Evaluate reviews for customer experience
Instead of going with what the platform claims, you must verify ERI’s performance through genuine user reviews and testimonials. Pick an intermediary that has a history of offering a satisfactory experience by evaluating all the reviews of a platform.
Must have high-performance
One of the major attractions of intermediaries is easy access and high availability. That is why you must be certain of the ERI’s server reliability and zero downtime. The platform must provide uninterrupted service even during the peak filing periods.
Experience seamless income tax e-filing with Tax Spanner
ERIs are designed to simplify income tax e-filing for both individuals and organizations. Given the critical role they play in ensuring tax compliance and avoiding penalties, you must undertake an elaborate selection process before picking an ERI. Or, you can just pick TaxSpanner, which is one of the leading ERIs in the country that helps you e-file your tax returns easily.
