An income tax return (ITR) enables an assessee to report the details of income earned in a financial year to the taxman. The Income Tax Department has provided an independent website, www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in, for e-filing the income tax return. A belated filing of income tax return for financial year 2018-19 (assessment year 2019-20) till December 1 attracts a penalty of Rs 5,000 under current tax laws, according to the Income Tax Department’s website – incometaxindia.gov.in. However, late filing fee cannot exceed Rs. 1,000 for assessees with a total income up to Rs 5 lakh.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to prepare and file an income tax return (ITR) online through the Income Tax Department’s e-filing portal:

1. In order to access the Income Tax Department’s facility, the user is required to log in to the e-filing portal by entering details such as the user ID, the password, and the date of birth.

2. Once logged in, the user may access the “prepare and submit ITR online” option under the “e-file” section. Only the income tax return using forms ITR 1 and ITR-4S can be filed online.

3. The user can then select either of the forms along with the relevant assessment year to proceed.

4. After this step, the user fills in the required details and clicks on “submit” to proceed.

5. The user uploads the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) if applicable, and clicks on “submit”.

6. In case a Digital Signature Certificate is not applicable, the ITR verification – also known as the ITR-V – is displayed. The user is required to click on the given link and download the ITR-V, which is also sent to the registered email address of the user.

7. If the ITR is uploaded with a Digital Signature Certificate, the return filing process is complete.

8. In case the return is not accompanied with a Digital Signature Certificate, the ITR-V form is printed, signed and physically sent to the Central Processing Centre (CPC), Bengaluru within 120 days from the date of e-filing.

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