If your earnings were in the taxable income category for the financial years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017, and you didn’t file returns by the deadline (31 July 2017), you need to file your belated income tax returns by 31 March 2018.

You can file your returns for the financial year 2015-16 and 2016-17 by 31 March.

What is belated tax filing and revised tax filing?

A belated filing refers to filing income tax returns after the due date that usually falls in July or August of the same year. The last date for filing belated returns for 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 is March 31, 2018.

A revised return refers to changing what you filed originally to account for any details that you may have missed or filed incorrectly. The last date for filing the revised returns for 2015-2016 is March 31, 2018.

How can one use this facility to pay income tax?

You can use the facility if -You have a bank account with the net-banking facility, and your bank provides the e-payment facility.

What is e-payment of taxes?

This is a facility provided to the taxpayers to make income tax payments through the internet, using the net-banking facility.

Whether it is mandatory to pay tax online?

It is mandatory for the following types of assesses to pay tax online with effect from April 1, 2008.

1. All the corporate assessees.
2. All assessees (other than company) to who the provisions of section 44AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 are applicable.

What should I do if my bank does not have an online payment facility or is not an authorized bank for e-tax?

In case your bank does not have an online payment facility or is not an authorized bank then you can make electronic payment of tax from the account of any other person who has an account with the authorized bank having the online facility. However, the challan for making such payment must clearly indicate your Permanent Account Number (PAN).

In case counterfoil is lost, what should one do?

Your Bank provides the facility for re-generation of electronic challan counterfoil kindly check the Bank website; if not then you should contact your bank and request them for duplicate challan counterfoil.

Procedure for e-payment of direct taxes:

1. To pay taxes online the taxpayer will select the relevant challan i.e. ITNS 280, ITNS 281, ITNS 282 or ITNS 283, as applicable.
2. Enter its PAN/TAN as applicable. There will be an online check on the validity of the PAN/TAN entered.
3. If PAN/TAN is valid the taxpayer will be allowed to fill up other challan details like accounting head under which payment is made, name and address of TAN and also select the bank through which payment is to be made, etc.
4. On submission of data entered a confirmation screen will be displayed. If the taxpayer confirms the data entered in the challan, it will be directed to the net-banking site of the bank.
5. The taxpayer will login to the net-banking site with the user id/ password provided by the bank for net-banking purpose and enter payment details at the bank site.
6. On successful payment a challan counterfoil will be displayed containing CIN, payment details and bank name through which e-payment has been made. This counterfoil is proof of payment being made.